We Could Fall Apart
by lily keys
Summary: No matter how strong she seemed, Jade West couldn't find the balance between her boyfriend, their infant daughter, and her best friend who was unraveling at the seams. Everything was coming apart so quickly and she wasn't sure how much more she could take.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello, first time fanfic writer here! I've been reading fics obsessively for quite some time now. I would love to hear what you think! **

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It's not unusual for Jade West to be woken up in the middle of the night by the shrill ringing of her phone at least twice a week. It's always a frantic Robbie Shapiro. And Jade always answers, despite Beck's hesitation. This time it was late, 3:44 in the morning to be exact. Cat's meltdowns are increasing and Jade's beginning to worry herself into exhaustion. She barely sleeps as it is since little Lucy Oliver was born six and a half months ago.

"Babe, don't," Beck tries to tell his girlfriend sleepily, rolling over to place a protective hold around her waist. He, however, fails. "Jade…"

Jade dismisses Beck with a wave and fumbles for the PearPhone on her cluttered nightstand. Beck sighs into the soft pillow and listens as Jade mumbles into her phone, promising she'll be there soon. Beck sits up and adjusts his eyes to the bright light when Jade throws the lamp to look for her shoes.

"Jade, this is the third time this week," Beck begins uneasily. He runs a hand through his tangled hair and sighs. "You need to let Robbie deal with Cat. He's her fiancé."

Per usual, Jade rolls her eyes and slips on her jacket. She's still not too keen on the idea that her best friend is engaged. Cat's only twenty. But then again, Jade had a baby at twenty and has no room to judge.

"He's obviously not doing a good job," Jade snips. She glances at the clock and tries not to yawn. "If I'm not back before the baby wakes up…"

"Jade," Beck begins with a smile. "I know what to do."

"Right," Jade mumbles, leaning on the bed to kiss Beck's lips. "I'll be back."

"Good luck," Beck says encouragingly. He rubs Jade's forearm and looks at her sympathetically. The worry is written all over her face. "Hey," he adds in softly. "It will be okay. You always know what to do."

Jade just nods and kisses Beck one more time, gingerly stepping out into the hall so she doesn't wake up the baby. The past year had been a whirlwind. Between getting pregnant and Cat's engagement, it was a lot to take in. But she was accustomed to the routine now. Lucy was an easy baby and though she was a surprise, both Jade and Beck took to parenting pretty well. It even softened Jade's personality a bit. She was less...mean and more loving. Except when it came to Robbie. She still yelled at him on a daily basis.

She's thankful Robbie and Cat only live a few blocks away. The only light on in their condo complex is theirs. Jade softly shuts her car door and trudges up to the front door. She grabs the spare key from under the mat and pushes the door open. Robbie is pacing all around the living room, muttering to himself.

"You're here!" Robbie cries out in relief. "What took you so long?"

Jade crosses her arms. "I was sleeping!"

"She's hiding under the bed again," Robbie fills Jade in mournfully. "I can't get her to come out. She thinks I'm trying to hurt her."

"Did you try playing pirates with her?"

Robbie shivers at the venom in Jade's voice. "No!" he protests. "We were sleeping and all of a sudden she shot up and started screaming."

Jade doesn't want to hear it anymore. "Stay here," she commands, wandering down the hall to Cat and Robbie's room. She can hear Cat's small whimpering almost immediately. "Cat?" she says softly. "Come out."

"No!" Cat continues to whimper. "No!"

"Don't make me come under there," Jade threatens in her "mom" voice. It usually works but Cat's not listening. With no choice, Jade bends down and lifts the bed skirt up gently so she doesn't scare her friend. "What are you doing?"

Cat, whose face is buried in a bunch of stuffed animals, shakes her head. "Robbie was trying to hurt me!"

"What?" Jade says in confusion. "How?" Cat just shakes her head and starts to cry into her multi-colored unicorn pillow pet. "Cat," she whispers. "You love Robbie. He's your fiancé, remember?"

"No!" Cat continues to cry. She starts to writhe all around under the bed. "He was pushing me on the swing and I told him it was too high! But he wasn't listening. He kept pushing and pushing and I fell off and hurt my head."

Jade doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. Lately, it's the latter. She maneuvers herself under the bed next to Cat. "You were dreaming, Cat."

Cat starts to protest but when she realizes Jade's right, she squeaks. "So I didn't hurt my head?"

"Nope," Jade says reassuringly. She playfully inspects Cat's head before ruffling her greasy red hair. It looks like Cat hasn't showered in days. "It's fine."

"Oh phooey," Cat pouts. "Robbie is going to hate me!"

Jade shakes her head and rubs Cat's shoulder. "He won't."

"He will," Cat sniffles. "He will! This is the third time this week. Everything is so confusing sometimes, Jade!" She clenches her eyes shut and kicks her heels against the carpeted floor. "Make it stop!"

Jade's at a loss for words. She's watched her best friend fall from grace over the past few months. She knows Cat's family has a history of mental illness. She knows all the signs; Cat's brother had them clearly.

"Why don't you come stay with me," Jade suggests quickly. Cat's tears are quick to dry and she's squealing. "Pack some clothes and I'll go talk to Robbie."

She rolls out from underneath the bed and watches Cat talk to her stuffed animals before gently placing them on the rumpled bed. Jade bites her lip and slowly makes her way back to the living room.

"Is she okay?" Robbie asks fearfully. He sighs in relief when Jade nods.

"It was just a dream," Jade whispers. She knows she has two minutes to talk to Robbie before Cat bounds out of the bedroom. "Have you taken her to the doctor?"

Robbie crosses his arms. "There's nothing wrong with her, Jade."

"Yes there is," Jade hisses. "Robbie, open your eyes. She's-"

"Don't," Robbie cuts in. He steps closer to Jade and stares her down.

Before Jade can argue back, Cat skips into the room and attaches herself to Jade's side. She's avoiding Robbie's concerned eyes. "Ready, Jadey," she whispers, tugging on her best friend's hand childishly.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to stay with Jade and Beck and Lucy!" Cat announces brightly. "Can we bake red velvet cupcakes when we get home? Oh, I want to play with Lucy!"

"No!" Jade yells tiredly. "We're going to sleep when we get home."

Cat's bottom lip curls into a pout when she knows there's no use in arguing. She looks up at Robbie shyly. "I'll, I'll see you in a few days."

Jade watches Robbie's face freeze. She knows she has to eventually step back and let Robbie take over but there's a part of her that can't. She can't let her best friend go. The thought of someone else taking care of Cat scares her. She's been doing it since the first grade. No one knows Cat better than Jade. Robbie's fine and all but Jade watches how frustrates he gets when Cat acts like a seven-year-old. How tense he gets when Cat starts to freak out because they're out of her favorite ice cream flavor at the local Freezy Queen. He can't handle her sometimes.

"Bye," Robbie says robotically. He turns away when Cat tries to kiss him and stalks off down the hall to the bedroom.

Cat twists the small engagement ring on her finger and continues to pout as Jade leads her out of the condo. The short ride home is silent and Jade's thankful when she finds Cat fast asleep once she pulls in her driveway. She has no energy to carry Cat in and Beck's going to have a fit when she wakes him up to grab Cat from the car. Jade looks at Cat and smiles at how innocent she looks with her face buried in her unicorn pillow. It was a gift from Robbie.

Jade quietly climbs out of the car and heads inside. She sees the light on in the kitchen and finds Beck cradling Lucy in his arms. The littlest Oliver is fussy, but contently sucking on her purple and pink pacifier.

"Everything okay?" Jade asks in concern.

Beck just nods sleepily. "I think she just has gas."

Jade crinkles her nose and holds her arms out. "Give me."

"How's Cat?" Beck asks, holding Lucy to his chest. He's not ready to give her up just yet.

"She's sleeping in the car," Jade says sheepishly. "Can you go get her?"

"No," Beck whines with a yawn. "You get her."

"I don't want to," Jade whines back, her hand rubbing Lucy's back. "I want my baby!"

Beck finally relinquishes the baby and kisses Jade's forehead. "You're lucky I love you."

Jade knows how lucky she is. She rocks Lucy back and forth gently, watching her little green eyes flutter shut. Her dark hair is currently all over the place and Jade can't help but smooth it down. There are days she wishes she was a kid again. Lucy was so lucky; she had no worries and Jade envies her for that. Lucy doesn't have to worry that her best friend might be ill. Lucy doesn't have to worry that her best friend is rapidly losing touch with reality day by day. All Lucy has to worry about is her two parents taking the best care of her.

Back and forth, back and forth. Jade continues rocking her baby long after Beck comes in with Cat and carries her to the guest bedroom upstairs. She rocks Lucy for another ten minutes until Beck comes downstairs worriedly.

"Are you coming to bed?"

Jade shakes her head back to reality. "Yeah, yeah. Let me get her back in the crib and check on Cat."

"Cat's fine," Beck says reassuringly. He slips his hand up the back of Jade's pajama shirt and splays his fingers across the small of her back. "Promise."

Jade takes Beck's word and follows him up the stairs. She gently lowers Lucy back into the crib and kisses her forehead, letting her lips linger to let her daughter know how much she loves her. She can't help but wonder if Mrs. Valentine showed more affection for Cat how different she'd turn out. But when Beck's arms encircle her waist, she forgets all about Cat and allows her boyfriend to drag her back to bed. Once they get settled, Jade nestles herself into Beck's arms and grips his ratty old t-shirt tightly.

"I'm scared, Beck," Jade finally admits when the darkness engulfs them. It's nearing five in the morning and Lucy's usually up by 6:30.

Beck just holds Jade tight and nuzzles his face in Jade's hair. "I'm here, babe," he promises. Cat means everything to Jade and he knows how much it's killing her to see Cat struggle. "It will all be okay."

Jade lets Beck's reassurance lull her to sleep. She doesn't loosen her grip on him until she hears Lucy cry nearly two hours later. Beck tells her to keep sleeping even though he was filming all day yesterday. It's her day to get up with the baby.

She can't find the willpower to get out of bed until it's almost ten o'clock.

The house seems silent. Still, even. Jade descends down the stairs and finds Cat and Lucy laying on their stomachs on the floor watching some cartoon Jade vaguely recognizes. Cat too absorbed in the TV to notice Lucy curiously inspecting Mr. Purple and drooling all over him.

"Morning, Jade!" Cat chirps like nothing is wrong. "We're watching TV!" She turns to Lucy and gasps. "Lucy Goose! You drooled all over Mr. Purple!"

Jade just smirks and continues on to the kitchen. Beck's pouring himself a cup of coffee and just as he's about to drink it, she swoops in and steals it. "Thanks," she grins, kissing his cheek. "How long have they been up?"

Beck just shrugs and grabs another mug. "I don't know but Cat's been watching Lucy all morning. I even took a little nap," he boasts proudly. "You owe me."

"Alright, Oliver," Jade rolls her eyes, reveling in the scent of coffee. "Vega's supposed to be coming over in a few hours so we can work together on her stupid song."

"You agreed to do the duet," Beck reminds her with a goofy smile.

"Oh, take her side!" Jade guffaws, glaring at her boyfriend. "I'm only doing this for the money. And because Vega begged me. I actually felt kinda bad. She got down on her knees and everything."

"You enjoyed every second of it."

"I know," Jade mutters into the coffee cup. "Can you drop Lucy off at my mom's before you go to your photo shoot? I promised she could have her for the day."

Beck gives Jade a thumbs up. "Yes, master. Anything else?"

"Yeah, don't pose shirtless this time. I don't need teenaged girls fantasizing about you while they're discovering their hormones."

"I can't help it," Beck brags, grabbing Jade's hand before she has the chance to slap him across the chest. He snakes his arms around her waist and pulls her close. "Promise me you'll relax today."

Jade scowls but begrudgingly agrees. "Fine," she pouts.

Beck tickles her sides before pulling away. He feels kind of bad about prying Lucy away from Cat. Cat's clearly enthralled with the baby and Lucy's really fond of Cat. She's amazed by her bright red hair and loves tugging on it every chance she gets.

"Say 'Cat,' Luc!" Cat coaxes in a baby voice. "C'mon, baby! Say my name!"

"She can't talk, Cat," Beck chuckles, sitting on the couch.

"How do you _know_?" Cat counters matter-of-factly.

"I just do," Beck argues childishly. "Alright, surrender the baby, Red. I need to get her dressed so I can bring her to Jade's mom's for the day."

Cat juts out her bottom lip. "But we're having so much fun!"

"She'll be back," Beck promises, settling Lucy on her hip. He makes a funny face at his daughter and beams when she giggles wildly. "How's my favorite girl in the world doing? Huh?"

Cat grins, watching Beck rub his nose against Lucy's. "I thought Jade was your favorite girl in the world?"

"She is," Beck says, clearly distracted with Lucy. "I can have more than one."

"Am I one of your favorite girls in the world?" Cat asks with widened eyes. She pets Mr. Purple and frowns when he's all wet with baby drool.

"Of course," Beck looks down at Cat, noticing the apprehension in her eyes. He holds his free arm out and cuddles Cat into his side when she gets up. She holds on tight and breathes his signature cologne.

The moments over when Lucy's chubby hand latches on to Cat's hair. The little redhead squeals and pulls away with a giggle. "Someone's jealous."

Beck pats Lucy's back and gently untangles her tight grip on Cat's hair. Cat smiles at him thankfully and disappears into the kitchen. Jade's alternating between sips of coffee and spoonfuls of Special K cereal. Cat pours herself a bowl and sits across from Jade at the kitchen table.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" Jade questions softly. She pushes away her bowl and watches Cat stare deeply into hers. "Cat," she presses on, knowing Cat's avoiding the question. "Caterina!"

Cat snaps her head up. "Whaty?"

It takes all of Jade's strength not to bang her head on the table. "What's going on with you, baby girl?"

Cat's face crumbles at Jade's special nickname for her. She only uses it when she's really concerned. "I don't want to tell you."

Jade reaches across the table and grabs Cat's hands. "You can tell me anything."

"I know," Cat mumbles. She bites her bottom lip and finally wills herself to look up at her best friend. "Promise you won't get mad?"

"Promise." Jade's ready for the big revelation. She's ready to hear why Cat's been acting the way she is.

Cat closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I don't think I love Robbie anymore."

It wasn't what Jade was expecting to hear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the reviews! :) I'm glad you seem to like the story, wasn't sure if anyone was going to! I really appreciate all the feedback. It inspires me to write faster! **

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_I don't want to be a priss, I'm just try'na be polite  
__But it always seems to bite me in the-  
__Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot_

Jade stares the lyrics in front of her with a scowl. "Vega," she begins hotly.

"What?" Tori asks innocently. "Don't you like the lyrics?"

"We're 21-years-old," Jade begins slowly, as if she's talking to Lucy. "You can say 'ass.'"

"Jade!" Tori gasps like Jade has said something scandalous. "My fanbase is sort of…"

"Annoying? Nonexistent?"

Tori glares at Jade and snatches the paper. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she teases, pinching Jade's arm.

"Don't touch me," Jade grumbles, rubbing her arm. "We've been going over the song for the last two hours. It's dumb."

"I wrote this song!"

"Yeah, I know," Jade snips. "It's dumb but I'll do it."

"Aw," Tori grins. "You loooove me."

"Ugh, Vega, go away," Jade groans loudly. She somehow managed to convince Cat to take a bath and told her to stay in there until the water was cold so she wouldn't bother her and Tori. So far, it was working. "I'm tired."

Tori's face falls into concern. "Did the baby keep you up?"

"No," Jade whispers. She picks at her nails and makes a mental note to repaint them before she leaves the house. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Would it have to do with a certain little redhead upstairs?"

Despite her annoyance towards Tori, Jade appreciates how she's able to pick up on certain things rather quickly. It's nice to talk to someone who understands and isn't easily distracted. "I heard Andre talking to Robbie this morning before I left."

"When do we start recording?" Jade changes the subject. She's just so tired of talking about Cat's problems over and over again. "I only like recording at night. In the dark. With no one around."

"Morbid," Tori mumbles. Ignoring Jade's earlier protest, she rubs her back and offers her a concerned smile. "You know I'm here to help, right?"

Jade just shrugs and grabs the two empty mugs to bring into the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, Tori follows and Jade has no choice but to spill. "She told me she doesn't love Robbie anymore."

It takes Tori a minute to respond. "Oh," she breathes out. "Well, I mean, I always thought Robbie was more into the relationship than she was."

"Yeah," Jade agrees. "But I think it's because she…"

"Thinks Robbie is out to get her?" Tori finishes softly. She stares down at the floor when Jade visibly flinches. It's such a hard subject to talk about for both girls. "How's Lucy doing?"

"Good." Jade brightens a little, letting a small smile slip. "She's with my mom for the day. It should give me time to learn your stupid song."

Cat comes barreling in to the kitchen, her wet hair dripping puddles on the clean tiled floor. "Tor, you're still here!"

"Cat!" Jade scolds. "You're getting my floor wet."

"Oops," Cat giggles, grabbing Tori's wrist. "Will you braid my hair?"

"Sure," Tori smiles, allowing Cat to drag her into the living room.

Jade sidesteps the puddle and looks at the clock. It's almost 7 o'clock and Beck's been gone for close to seven hours now. She knows photo shoots take some time between hair and makeup, but he's the only one who can put her at ease these days. And little Lucy. But since Mrs. West hasn't seen Lucy in weeks she's going to be hard to get back. Jade's thankful her mother has been supportive. They haven't always had the best relationship but ever since Lucy was born things were starting to get better.

She peers into the living room and watches Tori dutifully comb though Cat's snarly red hair. Her roots are more prominent and Jade knows it's time to re-dye Cat's hair sooner rather than later. Tori listens to Cat chatter on about god knows what, all the while braiding her hair down her right shoulder. Cat beams and throws her arms around Tori, holding on for dear life.

"Cat, do you want to help me make dinner?"

Cat pulls away from Tori with a squeal. "Kay, kay! Spaghetti and meatballs?"

"Sure," Jade agrees, gesturing for Cat to go in the kitchen. "Go start it."

Tori stands up and reaches for her coat. "I have to get back to the studio. I'll see you Thursday night to record?"

"I guess," Jade sighs dramatically. "Bye." She doesn't allow Tori to linger, knowing she's going to offer her sympathy and say "I'm here if you need anything."

Once Tori's gone, Jade reluctantly heads back into the kitchen. Cat's happily humming to herself while debating over to make either linguine or angel hair. "Which one?" she asks Jade cutely. "I like angel hair!"

"Make that then," Jade says shortly. She reaches for her phone and feels a bit better when Beck's text reveals he'll be home soon with Lucy. "What should we feed Luc tonight, Cat? Pureed green beans or sweet potatoes?"

Cat grimaces. "They both sound gross."

"Sweet potatoes it is," Jade says to herself, grabbing the jar out of the neatly organized cabinet especially reserved for Lucy. "Keep an eye on the water."

"I know," Cat snips, focusing on the pot of water on the stove. "I know how to make pasta, Jade."

Jade simply puts her hands up in the air and decides against responding. It's not worth picking a fight over. When the front door opens, she high tails it to the foyer and holds her arms out for Lucy. "There's my baby!"

"Here I am," Beck grins playfully, handing Lucy over. "Your mom took her shopping today."

Jade notices the three bags in Beck's hands and sighs. "Great. More pink dresses and tutus."

"I'll throw them in the closet with the others," Beck says. They're very much grateful for the way Mrs. West treats Lucy but some of the extravagant gifts she buys are so unnecessary.

"I missed you, baby," Jade coos, bouncing the baby in her arms. Lucy babbles happily and squeals. "Yeah? Did you miss me too?"

"Jade!" Cat cries in distress from the kitchen.

"Let's go see what Aunty Cat is doing," Jade whispers to her daughter, holding her tight just incase. She stops dead in her tracks when the pot on the stove is boiling over and Cat is cowering in the corner. "Cat!"

She forces Lucy into Cat's arms and turns off the burner, careful not to step on the boiling water and uncooked pasta all over the floor. "What happened?"

"I dunno," Cat whimpers. "I forgot it was there!"

Jade takes Lucy back and settles her on her hip. Now she can't leave Cat unattended with the stove. "Just clean it up. I'll order a pizza."

"I'm, I'm sorry," Cat sniffles. "Robbie usually makes the spaghetti."

Jade can see why. She straps Lucy in the highchair and gently squeezes her little hand when she cries in protest. "Feed the baby for me," she tells Cat, giving her the jar of sweet potatoes. Grabbing a paper towel, she starts to clean up the water all over the floor.

There's a part of Jade that wonders if she can even leave Cat alone with Lucy for a minute. She hates herself for thinking it but deep down, it's true. What if Cat forgot she was watching Lucy and left her somewhere?

"Jade, she won't eat!" Cat screeches, throwing the plastic spoon down on the high chair table. Lucy starts to whimper.

"I'll do it," Jade says forcefully, shooing Cat away. "Go find Beck and tell him to order some food."

Cat hangs her head and does as she's told. Jade picks up the spoon and gently places it in Lucy's mouth. She's glad the baby takes it. "You just wanted your mama, huh?"

Lucy coos and kicks her feet, her little mouth closing and opening rapidly.

"Alright, alright," Jade laughs. It's the first time she's laughed all day. "Hold your horses, baby girl."

"She eats just like her daddy," Beck says proudly, rubbing Lucy's head when he enters the kitchen. He drops a kiss on the top of Jade's head and pulls a chair up next to her. "You'll be happy to know I didn't pose shirtless today."

Jade smirks and wipes Lucy's face with her bib. "Good."

"They wanted me to," Beck begins playfully. "But I told them my girlfriend was very against it. You might be getting hateful tweets later."

"What else is new," Jade shrugs. "I swear this child eats like a horse."

Lucy screeches and tries reaching for the spoon dangling in her mother's hand. Beck just laughs and takes over the feeding duties for Jade. "Your mom said she fed her before left, too."

"She's going to have a gut like trucker," Jade says in disgust. She tickles Lucy's foot. "Did you order a pizza?"

"I did," Beck nods in confirmation. "It should be here soon. Cat said she wasn't hungry."

"She's probably just saying that because I yelled at her," Jade huffs, toying with the necklace around her neck. "She let the water for the pasta boil over. I left her alone for like twenty seconds."

Beck rubs Jade's back before feeding Lucy the last bite. "Has she talked to Robbie at all?"

"No," Jade answers quietly. "She told me earlier she doesn't think she loves him anymore."

"They'll work it out," Beck says uneasily. He doesn't broach the subject further when Jade removes the tray from the highchair and lifts the baby out of the chair. "Right?"

Jade just shrugs and focuses on cleaning Lucy's messy face. "I think we have to give her a bath."

They're lucky that Lucy is still small enough that she can fit in the kitchen sink. Beck grabs the stuff from the downstairs linen closet and fills up the sink with warm water as Jade undresses the baby. Lucy fusses at first, but as soon as Beck lowers her into the warm water she's content. She immediately starts splashing around, wetting both her parents as they try to wash her hair and little body.

"You're getting us all wet," Beck laughs, tickling the baby's soapy tummy gently. Lucy splashes more and more so Beck keeps tickling her.

"Beck!" Jade cries once the water gets in her eyes. "Stop!"

"Mommy's no fun," Beck stage whispers to his daughter as Jade shampoos her hair carefully.

"Can it, Beck," Jade hisses, bumping Beck with her hip. She reaches for the purple towel with a unicorn hood (a gift from Cat, obviously) and wraps Lucy up when Beck lifts her out of the sink. The baby starts to cry unhappily but soon stops when Jade cuddles her against her chest.

"I'll change her," Beck insists, holding his arms out. "You can get the pizza," he grins as the doorbell rings. "I know, I'll check on Cat, too," he adds in when Jade opens her mouth to speak.

He pats Lucy's back on the way up the stairs when she starts to babble. It's the unhappy babble that usually leads to a mess of tears. He lays her down on the changing table and puts a diaper on, rummaging through the messy drawer to find her a pair of clean pajamas. They've both been so busy that laundry was starting to pile up. Luckily, Lucy has enough clothes to last the next six months. Beck grabs the pink and white striped footie pajamas with a ladybug sewn onto the left side and gently places it on Lucy's body. She stares up at her daddy with a gummy smile, screeching when he blows a raspberry on her stomach just before he zips up the pajamas.

"Let's go see how Aunty Cat is doing," Beck whispers into Lucy's ear, kissing her temple lovingly. "I hope she's not pouting."

Cat is indeed pouting when Beck reaches the guest room. She's hardly visible in the mess of stuffed animals and blankets.

"Pizza's here," he informs her softly, standing over the bed. "You have ten seconds to get up before I drop the baby on you." Lucy's already squirming to get down to play with the stuffed animals. "Ten, nine, eight…"

Cat sits up and holds Mr. Purple to her chest. "Jade's mad at me!"

"No she's not," Beck retorts, sitting on the bed and resting Lucy up against the headboard. "Come on," he tries again, poking Cat's stomach. "I ordered your favorite; pineapple."

"R-really?" Cat looks up at Beck skeptically. "Don't lie to me, Beck Oliver!"

"I would never do such a thing," Beck feigns offense, chuckling as Lucy falls face first into Cat's stuffed bunny cleverly named Bugs. "Have you been drinking, baby girl?"

Cat tries hard not to pout because that was _her_ nickname first.

Lucy pulls on the bunny's hair and tries to stuff it in her mouth. But before she can do that, Cat's quick to scoop her up and hold the bouncing infant in her lap. Lucy's gaze immediately fixes on the sparkly diamond on her finger. It makes Cat frown.

Cat's PearPhone starts buzzing on the table beside the bed. Lucy's startled and starts to look for Beck, her big green eyes welling up with tears.

"It's Robbie," Cat whispers, her gaze mirroring Lucy's.

"Talk to him," Beck encourages. He lifts Lucy into his arms and gently rubs soothing circles on her back. "I'm gonna get her ready for bed. I'll save you some pizza," he winks, kissing the top of Cat's head.

Beck rocks Lucy back and forth and is glad when Jade's halfway up the stairs with a bottle to help soothe her. The pizza is long forgotten as the two parents sing their daughter to sleep after she polishes off her bottle.

"Robbie called," Beck tells Jade once they get downstairs. He picks a piece of pineapple off the pizza and pops it in his mouth.

Jade bites her lip and finishes the rest of her wahoo punch. She raises her eyebrows and lets out a tired sigh. If Cat tells Robbie how she really feels then she knows she won't be getting any sleep tonight.

"You want to go up there, don't you?" Beck can't help but smile.

"_No_," Jade glares, reaching for another slice of pizza. She knows it's something Cat has to work out on her own. "I have to record with Vega Thursday night. You better be home."

"Well I was supposed to have a photo shoot with the Kardashians in a Jacuzzi but I guess I can cancel," Beck jokes. He catches Jade when she lunges forward at him and pulls her into his lap.

It's nights like this they revel in; with Lucy fast asleep they can act like normal 21-year-olds. Beck's hands are tangled in Jade's hair while her petite fingers start unbuttoning his shirt. But just as things are about to get heated, Cat wanders in and clears her throat petulantly.

Jade quickly clambers off Beck and fixes her shirt. "Hey," she greets, her voice an octave higher.

Cat doesn't say anything. She grabs the last slice of pizza and stuffs it in her mouth, flopping down on the chair next to Beck.

"How did your talk with Robbie go?"

"I told him I didn't want to get married anymore," Cat says robotically. She looks up at both Beck and Jade with no emotion in her eyes. It's not their Cat. It's a stranger. Her gaze begins to flicker all around the room. "He yelled and said some bad words so I hung up."

Jade winces at Cat's tone and sits down next to her friend. "Do you, ah, want to talk about it?"

"No."

Beck sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He can feel Cat's gaze on him and it's starting to make him uncomfortable. "What's wrong?"

It's like a switch has been turned on or something because Cat's getting angry now, glaring at Beck as if he's said something offensive. "You think I'm mean for breaking up with Robbie!"

"W-what?" Beck stutters. "What are you talking about?"

"Why are you taking his side?" Cat continues to raise her voice. Her gaze flicks from Beck to Jade and from Jade to the ceiling.

"Cat, stop," Jade jumps in hastily. "He didn't say anything."

Cat lets out a tiny whimper and tugs anxiously at her hair. "Yes, he did!" she cries in frustration. "I heard him! He said it's my fault."

Jade swallows past the lump and stands up, holding her hand out for Cat. "I think you just need to sleep."

"No! I know what he said!" Cat carries on, looking at Beck.

"Cat, I didn't say anything," Beck whispers, his voice cracking. When Cat looks at him like a stranger, he turns away. "Cat, come on. It's me."

It takes Cat a minute to register what's going on. She shakes her head from side to side, much like she did the previous night, and looks at Jade. "No," she mumbles. "No, no, Jade! I did it again!"

Jade wraps Cat in her arms and holds her tight. "It's okay," she promises unsurely.

"I'm sorry," Cat says to Beck through a mess of tears. She wiggles out of Jade's grip and holds on tight to Beck. "I got confused again," she reveals shyly.

Beck just holds Cat tight and ruffles her hair. "Want to watch a movie?"

"Kay, kay!" And just like that, the old Cat is back again. She proclaims she's picking the movie and skips out of the room, leaving Beck and Jade to collect their thoughts.

Jade latches on to Beck's hand and feels a bit of relief when he squeezes it reassuringly. Beck would never say it out loud but now since he's witnessed one of Cat's breakdowns, he's not so sure everything is going to be okay anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for all the reviews and follows! I hope this isn't moving too slowly, I'm going to start speeding things up within the next few chapters. You guys are the best! **

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"Again. You sounded flat."

Realistically, Jade knows Andre's probably right but there's something about the snide tone in his voice that makes her rip the headphones off her ears and storm out of the recording booth. It's nearing two o'clock in the morning and she's been in the studio since 6:30. She didn't get to put Lucy to bed and she hates herself for that. The little baby was more upset than usual and Jade felt horrible leaving Beck to deal with the screaming infant who clearly wanted her mother.

"I'm done," Jade snaps, crossing her arms and staring down at Andre with a look full of authority. "I've been recording this stupid song for almost eight hours."

Andre sighs and fiddles with some buttons on the soundboard. He stares at Tori, who's sitting on the leather couch uneasily, and frowns. "Fine," he concedes. "We can finish recording some other time."

"Thank you," Jade hisses before reaching for the cold cup of coffee in the extra large Jet Brew cup. Despite how bitter it tastes, she downs the rest and dumps it in the small trash basket next to Tori's feet. "Next time write a better song."

Tori stands up and grabs on to Jade's wrist, holding the dark-haired girl back. Their eyes meet and Tori can see the exhaustion in Jade's eyes. "Are you alright?"

_No_, Jade wants to scream. She's not okay. Between Cat's excessive moping for the past three days and Beck's insane schedule, she's left with the baby and an unpredictable best friend. Cat's all over the place; irritated by the littlest things and then hours later she'll be the happiest she's ever been. Jade knows something's up but she doesn't have the energy to dig deeper just yet. As long as can keep a watchful eye on Cat for now everything seems like it's okay.

"I'm fine, Vega," Jade all but whispers. She pulls her wrist free and grabs her purse from the couch. "I'm just exhausted. You try taking care of a baby all day."

"I thought Beck was done with his guest spot," Andre pipes up from behind them.

Jade whirls around and glares. "Obviously not," she spits out irritably. "If he was do you think I'd look like a zombie right now?"

"I think you look pretty good right now," Andre grins. But he soon regrets it when Jade stands a little taller.

"Oh, and do you think I look like crap all the other times?"

Andre knows he's treading dangerous water and looks to Tori for help. "Come on," she says quickly, grabbing Jade's elbow. "I'll walk you out."

Jade pulls her arm free. "I can walk out by myself, Vega. I'm not five."

She leaves her two friends in a huff and stomps out to her car. The clock tells her that it's exactly 2 am and Beck has to leave for work in four hours. Jade's not going to be happy when the alarm goes off at 6 am.

When she gets home, she shuts the front door behind her quietly and practically stumbles up the stairs. It's quiet and she hopes it stays that way. She immediately crawls into bed after putting on her pajamas and brushing her teeth.

Beck automatically stirs. "Hey," he greets tiredly. "You just getting home?"

"Mmhm," Jade says, her voice muffled by the pillow. "Sleep."

It takes all of twenty minutes for someone to disturb Jade's sleep. She can hear Lucy's faint cries but when Beck groans and pulls the covers off him, she stops him. "I'll go," she says, her voice full of sleep. Beck doesn't argue and rolls over.

Jade drags herself out of bed and into Lucy's room, peering down at the sobbing infant sadly. She picks the baby up and rocks her gently, easing herself down in the rocking chair across the room. It takes a bit, but Lucy starts to calm down as Jade rocks her back and forth, softly singing a lullaby. Jade herself is starting to fall asleep and she's desperate to do the same. Lucy's peering up at her with heavy eyes, tiredly sucking on her pacifier.

"Go to sleep, baby girl," Jade encourages Lucy faintly. "Mommy's tired." Lucy gurgles in response but soon drifts off, her little eyes finally fluttering shut. Jade waits a few minutes to make sure Lucy's actually sleeping.

Just as she's about to get up, the bedroom door creaks a bit and Jade can vaguely make out Cat lingering in the doorway.

"Jade?" Cat whimpers. She's desperately trying to keep her voice low so she won't wake up Lucy. Then Jade would really be mad at her.

"What?" Jade calls out in a quiet annoyance. "Did the baby wake you?"

Cat invites herself in and tiptoes over to Jade. "No," she squeaks, perching herself on the edge of the rocking chair. "I think, I think there's somebody in my room!"

Jade can see Cat's eyes as wide as saucers through the tiny light illuminating from the nightlight on the wall near Lucy's crib. She bites down her bottom lip and tries not to lose it when Cat settles herself on the left side of her lap.

"Cat," Jade begins slowly. "There's no one in your room."

But Cat's not having any of it. She protests with more little whimpers like she's a tiny mouse and clings to the front of Jade's pajama shirt. Mr. Purple is tucked protectively under her left arm but he's not much help.

"There is," Cat corrects, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can hear them! I bet it's Robbie. Robbie is in my room because he wants to hurt me!"

Jade wraps her free arm around Cat and holds her close. "Ssh," she coos in her best friend's hair, kissing her temple. "Let me put Lucy in her crib and I'll come lay with you, okay?" It's all she can do to keep Cat's emotions at bay.

Cat considers Jade's offer but doesn't loosen her grip. "No," she finally protests, shaking her head vigorously. "I can hear voices!"

Jade closes her eyes and curls her fingers into Cat's side. Her worst fear is coming true. She starts rocking again, hoping the motion will calm Cat down. Surprisingly, it works and Cat's fighting to stay awake so Jade keeps rocking, her gaze flickering back to Lucy to make sure the little infant is still sleeping. Cat's grip on Jade's shirt is slowly but surely starting to loosen and soon, her soft breaths are the only sound being heard in the room. Jade lilts her head back in the chair and stares at the baby monitor next to her. She's hoping Beck has heard the conversation so he can come in and relieve her.

Beck does appear sleepily in the doorway, trying to tame the unruly hair on his head. He steps into Lucy's room and looks at Jade almost pitifully.

"Did you hear all of that?"

"Yep," Beck confirms with a nod, hovering over his three favorite girls. "Which baby do you want me to take?"

"Take her, please," Jade pleads, gesturing to Cat.

"Back to the guestroom?"

Jade nods and stretches her arm out when it's finally free of the pressure from Cat's small body. Beck adjusts Cat in his arms and rubs her back when she starts to stir. The motion almost always helps her fall asleep. Jade stands up and gently places Lucy back down in the crib. The baby continues to sleep peacefully, leaving Jade to follow Beck (and Cat) out of the room. When they get to the guestroom, Jade pulls back the covers and stupidly peers all around the room for any sign of somebody lurking.

"There's no one in here, babe," Beck says confidently. He rubs Jade's shoulder as she tucks the covers up to Cat's chin. "Jade, you're exhausted. Come back to bed."

Jade doesn't find the will to protest as Beck scoops her up and squeezes her tight. She buries her head in the crook of his neck and clasps her arms around her boyfriend's neck, reveling in the comforting scent of his cologne. She's safe. Everything feels safe when Beck is around. By the time they're back in their room, Jade's fast asleep. Beck can only chuckle and kiss Jade on the forehead. Rather than climbing in bed next to her, he makes his way back to the guestroom and double checks on Cat. She's still sleeping and Beck knows she should be out for the rest of the night.

He knows it's wrong to snoop, but he can't help but peer curiously at Cat's PearPhone thrown on the floor. It's flashing, indicating she's got a message. Beck bends down and looks at the phone. She's got two messages; one from Robbie and one from her mom. He knows he shouldn't look, but curiosity gets the best of him and he opens the messages.

**Robbie (9:10 pm)**

_I miss you, cutie. Please talk to me._

Beck smiles, hoping the two can work it out. He's always been supportive of their relationship, much to Jade's chagrin. Unfortunately, the next message doesn't make him smile. It makes him angry.

**Mommy (10:12 pm)**

_Cattie, this is serious. Daddy and I are worried about you. Please call us, peanut._

Beck clutches the phone tightly and drops it back down on the floor where it previously was. Junior year, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine practically abandoned Cat to take her older brother to a special clinic in Idaho. They were only supposed to be gone for up to two years but it now it was almost four and the Valentines showed no sign of ever returning. Sure, they sent Cat money and flew her out to visit three times but it wasn't the same. Cat needed her parents back then and as much as Beck hates to admit it, she needs them even more now.

"B-Beck?"

"Ssh, go back to sleep," Beck manages to say in a soft tone. He brushes the hair away from Cat's eyes and kisses her head. "Just making sure there are no monsters in here," he jokes.

Cat lets out a small giggle and holds Mr. Purple a little tighter. "Promise?"

"Promise," Beck says confidently. "Night, kiddo."

When Cat mumbles some sort of "goodnight" he crawls back in bed with Jade, who doesn't even stir. He has to be up in three hours but that's the last thing on his mind.

But when the alarm goes off at exactly six am, Beck groans into the pillow and reaches over Jade to hit the snooze button. By 6:20, Jade's nudging him awake.

"Wake up," Jade practically whines, shoving Beck's shoulder. "Beck!"

Beck grumpily opens his eyes and rubs them fiercely. "Nooo."

"Yess," Jade mocks, dropping her head on Beck's chest. "It's your last day. Thank god. After this I'll never have to think about Alyssa Vaughn staring at you again."

Beck decides now is not the best time to bring up the press tour he has to do in New York when his arc starts airing in a few months. Instead, he chuckles and gives Jade a noogie, prompting a girlish squeal from her. He lets her go and finally drags himself out of bed. Jade falls asleep sometime between Beck getting out of the shower and bringing her a cup of coffee.

Lucy sleeps until 7:30, which makes Jade proud. It's like her baby knows mommy needs more sleep. The infant is wide-awake and very alert, babbling contently when Jade changes her diaper and warms up her morning bottle. They spend most of the morning relaxing while Jade half-heartedly practices more of Tori's song. Since Cat shows no sign of getting up anytime soon, Jade deems it safe to run a couple errands. She gets Lucy dressed and they quickly run to the grocery store where Lucy attracts a lot of attention. She happily gurgles and squeals when the old lady in front of Jade in the checkout line pinches her cheeks and tells her she's the cutest little thing in the world. Jade beams with pride as Lucy laps up the attention.

Cat's still not up when they get home and she doesn't know whether or not to be worried or relieved. She feeds Lucy lunch and puts her down for a nap around 12:30. That's when she decides to check on Cat.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Jade yells in Cat's hair, shaking her shoulder. "Do you plan on getting up anytime today?"

Cat stirs in confusion. She yawns and kicks the covers off her, stretching her tiny arms over her head. Jade frowns when her bones crack. "What time is it?" Cat asks, scratching her newly exposed stomach.

"12:45," Jade replies in judgment. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm tired," Cat whines, trying to wiggle out of Jade's grip when she leans down and lifts her in a sitting position.

"Cry me a river. I've been up since 7:30," Jade snaps, lifting Cat out of the bed and steadying her on the ground. "Luc is already down for her afternoon nap."

Cat rubs her eyes and peers up at Jade sheepishly. "Oh."

"You need to take a shower," Jade instructs. "It's been three days since you've left this room. I know you're sad about Robbie-"

Cat's eyes suddenly narrow. "No, I'm not!" she corrects harshly. "I don't _love_ Robbie anymore."

Jade holds her hands up in defense and drags Cat to the bathroom. In the bathroom light, Cat's red hair is so stringy and greasy. Her pajamas are rumpled and don't exactly match. It's not like Cat to be so unhygienic. The girl used to take two showers a day in high school!

When Cat makes no effort to run the water, Jade takes the liberty turning on the shower and stripping Cat down. "In," she commands, leaving no room for protest. Cat merely whimpers and hops in the shower, closing the curtain rather angrily.

Jade leaves the bathroom and decides to make some macaroni and cheese in an attempt to get Cat to start talking. But when the little redhead comes down the stairs almost twenty minutes later dressed in the same pair of dirty pajamas, Jade collapses at the kitchen table and drops her head in her hands. Cat just giggles and plops down across from Jade, dumping her coloring books and crayons all over the table.

"Want to color?"

Jade forces a smile and picks up a black crayon, lazily dragging it over a picture of a half-colored in penguin.

"This is for Lucy," Cat informs Jade proudly, shoving a picture of an orange monkey in Jade's face. "His name is…Preston!"

"Okay," Jade deadpans, pressing harder on the crayon. When it snaps in half, she expects Cat to freak out. But when she looks up, Cat's not even paying attention. She's staring off into space and quietly mumbling to herself. "Hey," she calls out to her, leaning across the table to grab her hand. "Cat?"

Cat shakes her head and smiles. "Hi!"

Before Jade can prod any further, Lucy's shrill whining permeates through the baby monitor next to her. Cat drops her crayon and scampers to her feet. "I'll get her!"

Jade presses her forehead on the table and closes her eyes. She has no idea what to do. Cat desperately needs to see a doctor but Jade doesn't know how to exactly bring it up without sending Cat into a fit of hysteria.

"Jade?" Beck calls out from the foyer, practically running into the kitchen. He smiles when he finds Jade slumped over the table. He sets the extra large cup of Jet Brew coffee in front of her. "Tough day?"

"You're early," Jade comments after a long sip of coffee. She stands up and buries herself into Beck's strong arms.

"Yeah, we wrapped earlier than I thought," Beck says into Jade's hair. He can feel her grip getting tighter and tighter but has no time to ask what happened because Cat's rushing in with Lucy wailing on her hip.

"I'm not changing her dirty diaper," Cat says matter-of-factly, looking up at Beck cutely. "I think she wants her daddy."

Jade agrees and looks at Beck pleadingly. "Come with me, Cat," Beck says, gesturing for Cat to follow. "I'll show you how it's done."

Jade can't believe her life. She's got the perfect boyfriend who knows when it's time to give her space and take over. Sometimes she doesn't know how she got him.

She revels in the silence and reaches for her cell phone. She knows she has to call the Valentines. But just as she's about to dial Mrs. Valentine, the doorbell rings repeatedly. Jade grumbles in annoyance and swings it open, glaring at Robbie when he looks at her shyly.

"Look, Rob," she starts calmly. "Cat doesn't want to talk to you."

"I know," Robbie agrees sadly. "I know. I came to talk to you."

Jade looks at the nerdy boy in curiosity. "Why?"

"Because." Robbie stuffs his hands in his pockets anxiously. "I haven't exactly been honest with you…"

"What do you mean?"

"Cat's been acting like this for months," Robbie blurts out. It's like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. "I called her parents and they told me to take her to a doctor because she has the same symptoms her brother had. I, I wanted to, Jade. I did. But I couldn't bring myself to. I couldn't bring myself to find out she's"

"Mentally Ill?" Jade finishes, the crack in her voice acting as a prelude to her tears.

"Yeah," Robbie whispers, looking down at the ground. "How is she?"

Jade swipes at her tears and freezes when she can hear footsteps coming down the stairs. She lets herself relax when it's just Beck. "Hey, Rob," Beck greets, knocking fists with his friend. "What's up?"

"Just dropping by to say hi," Robbie lies with a goofy smile.

"Why don't you come in? Lucy would love to see her Uncle Robbie."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Robbie continues quietly. "I don't think Cat's ready to see me just yet."

"Yeah," Jade agrees, looking up at Beck anxiously. "Maybe in a few days…"

Beck decides not to protests and waves goodbye to Robbie when he suddenly turns on his heel and hightails it down the walkway to his awaiting car. Jade shuts the door and pokes Beck in the stomach. "How much do you love me?"

"Is this a rhetorical question?" Beck teases. It earns him a slap on the shoulder.

"Take me out to dinner tomorrow," Jade demands desperately. "I can call Vega and have her watch the baby…and Cat."

"Can't Cat watch the baby?"

It pains her to say it, it really does, but Jade shakes her head. "No," she snaps, looking at Beck in shock. "I know you haven't been around for the past few days"

Beck's not looking to start an argument. "Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"No," Jade interrupts, shaking her head. She grips the lapels of Beck's collard shirt and tugs at them. "That's not what I meant." Her voice begins to crack and she can't stop the tears trickling down her cheeks. "I can't do this."

Beck closes the distance between them and hugs Jade tight to his body. "Do what?" Very rarely does Jade breakdown so easily. He knows she's crumbling and there's nothing anybody can do to stop it. "It's okay, Jade, I'm here."

Jade sucks her bottom lip in between her teeth and refuses to look up at her boyfriend because she can't handle the worry on his face. "Take me to Maestro's tomorrow. Please?"

Beck squeezes Jade even tighter. He knows Jade needs it. They need one normal night away to cling to because they're both aware things are already spiraling out of control and there's nothing they can do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**And here's chapter 4! Things are finally starting to move and the next few chapters will be pretty tough. Eek. Thank you all so much for the reviews and follows! You guys rock.**

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"Beck? I think I'm drunk."

Beck chuckles at Jade from across the table and nods in agreement. "I think so, too."

Jade snorts and polishes off the rest of her vodka sour with a dopey grin. It's her fifth of the night but after Tori texted her to say that both Cat and Lucy were sound asleep, she stopped worrying and let loose. Beck only had two beers, allowing Jade to keep drinking because she needed it more.

"I want pie," Jade says after deep contemplation. She fumbles for the dessert menu and yelps when she realizes there's more than one pie option. "_Babe_," she begins, staring at her boyfriend excitedly. "They have apple and cherry pie."

Beck continues to laugh. He can't remember the last time Jade has let loose. "Which one are you gonna get?"

"I dunno," Jade whispers with a scowl. "I just don't know."

Before Jade can spend the rest of the night agonizing over what flavor pie to get, Beck flags down the waiter and orders both cherry and apple. Jade nearly falls of the chair in glee. She digs in like she hasn't eaten in days and nearly stabs Beck with her fork when he reaches over to grab a bite.

"Get your own pie," Jade scolds with a glare. She finishes off the apple pie and starts to dig into the cherry but soon stops. "I think I ate too fast," she complains, holding a hand to her stomach.

"Aw, does your tummy hurt?" Beck patronizes. He ducks when Jade whips her napkin at him. "Don't get us kicked out."

"I can't believe I'm drunk," Jade suddenly whimpers. "I can't be drunk! I have a kid…I have a Cat!"

"It's okay," Beck tells her reassuringly. "Tori said everything's fine at home, remember? You deserve to have fun."

"Vega better take good care of my babies," Jade harrumphs, slumping in the chair and crossing her arms petulantly. "And I suppose I owe her after this. I guess I'm gonna have to record her stupid song now!"

"I thought you finished that earlier?"

Jade bursts out laughing. "Oh, yeah," she chortles, hitting the table in amusement. "I did. And you know what? I sounded AMAZING on it. Vega, hah, Vega sounded okay. I'm totally going to outshine her."

"I know you are, babe," Beck supplies with a grin.

"It's going to be a hit because of ME!" Jade continues loudly. She takes a large gulp of the warm water she got when they first sat down and swallows it with great difficulty. "I know everyone just loooves Tori but let me tell you something! I'm just as talented as she is. I'm better."

Beck's entirely grateful that Jade's ranting about Tori and not Cat. The little redhead had another rough night thinking someone was in her bedroom again. She spent the night sleeping in between him and Jade.

"You are better," Beck winks. "And hotter."

"Damn right," Jade beams, pointing her finger at Beck. She leans across the table and pulls at Beck's tie. "I want you," she breathes out lustfully. "Let's have sex in the car."

Beck squirms in his seat and quickly pays the check, forever thankful he took Lucy's car seat out of his car to give to Tori in case she wanted to go anywhere. Jade barely makes it to the car before hiking her dress up and shoving Beck down in the backseat. The parking lot is dark and secluded but neither of them care about being caught. Jade fumbles for the zipper on Beck's pants and laughs drunkenly in his ear when he has to unzip them himself. She shoves her tongue down his throat and moans loudly when Beck's fingers tug down her underwear. With no one to interrupt, she's as free to be as loud as she wants.

"Beck? Beck," Jade whimpers just as Beck's about to enter her. "Beck," she tries again, gripping his shoulder tightly. "I think I'm going to puke."

Beck grimaces and pulls away, opening the car door and pulling Jade out. She lets out an unattractive burp before spilling the contents of her stomach. Beck tries not to laugh and dutifully rubs his girlfriend's back, offering her a mint when she seems like she's better.

"I just puked," Jade says in embarrassment.

"I know, babe," Beck nods, smoothing down Jade's hair. "I watched."

Jade shivers and clambers into the front seat of the car with a grown. "I'm sorry," she apologizes with a pout. "I just puked," she repeats, clearly scandalized by the whole ordeal.

"If it makes you feel any better, Lucy projectile vomited on me this morning."

"Ew," Jade groans in disgust, crinkling her nose. "That's gross. You're gross."

"Yet you love me anyway," Beck boasts. He slowly pulls out of the parking lot for fear if he drives too fast, Jade will puke again.

"Whatever," Jade mumbles. She stares at the clock on the console and can't believe it's almost 11 o'clock. "We've been gone for like six hours. Vega's going to kill us."

"No she won't," Beck laughs, stopping slowly at a red light. "She told us to stay out as late as possible, remember?"

"Nope," Jade scoffs. She rifles through her bag and pulls out her cell phone. She can't help but frown when there are no text messages or missed calls. Great, now she's going to have to compliment Tori on a job well done. "Let's go dancing!"

"You hate dancing."

Jade pouts in realization. "Oh, yeah," she sighs, her eyes lighting up when they pass Cat's favorite Freezy Queen. "Let's get ice cream!"

"You just had pie, Jade," Beck points out in amusement. He narrowly avoids Jade's fist hitting his shoulder when he drives past the ice cream shop.

"What are you, the food police?" Jade shouts, kicking the dashboard. "Vega told us to stay out as late as possible, remember?"

"I did, but you didn't."

"Okay, wow, great job on your memory," Jade mutters. "Beck, I'm drunk. God, I' m so drunk. I'm going to wake up with a pounding headache tomorrow, right?"

"Probably," Beck says sympathetically. He stares at Jade when they reach another red light and ruffles her hair. "I love you, drunky."

Jade sticks her tongue out and smooshes her lips into Beck's. "I hate you."

Beck feigns offense and reaches over to tickle Jade's side. She squeals in protest and squirms all around to rid herself of Beck's tickling fingers. "Beck!" she reprimands him, finally swatting his hands away. "Stop, stop. Stop the car!"

Doing as he's told, Beck pulls over and looks at Jade. "What?"

"I have to puke again," Jade blurts out before rolling down the window and sticking her head out. Beck can only rub her back again and hold back his laughter by turning up the radio.

"You can wash my car tomorrow," Beck tells Jade once they get home, lifting his girlfriend out of his car. "In a bikini."

"Perv," Jade shakes her head in disgust, swatting Beck's chest. "It's your fault I puked in the first place!"

"How?"

"It…it just is!" Jade yelps, clearly flustered by the lack of evidence she has to back up her argument. She stumbles into the foyer and drops her purse on the ground, nearly tripping over it in the process. "Victoria Vega! Leave my house now."

Tori wanders in from the living room with a laugh. "Jade West, are you drunk?"

"No!"

"Yes," Beck says the same time Jade says no. "Boozy puked twice on the way home."

"Beck!" Jade whines. "That is private information! I could have puked on you while we were having sex in the car!"

"Okay, okay, enough," Tori moans, holding her hand up for them to stop. "I don't need to hear any details."

"We, we didn't get to the sex part," Beck whispers to Tori as Jade adjusts her dress.

"Stop!" Tori whines. Beck merely chuckles. "You two kids have fun?"

"Obviously," Jade scoffs, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm drunk, Vega." Then, she stops and stares at Tori curiously. "Whoa, have you always had a twin?"

Tori quickly catches Jade in her arms when she falls forward after a failed attempt to reach out and poke Tori's "twin." "I've never been more amused," Tori confesses, lifting Jade into a standing position.

Jade kicks off her heels while Tori still has her arms wrapped around her slim waist and laughs loudly when one shoe hits Beck in the groin. "Whoops," she laughs as Beck bends over with a groan. "That's what you get, Beckett."

Once Beck regains his composure, he throws Jade over his shoulder and smacks her butt playfully. "Thanks again, Tor."

"Cat took care of Lucy all night," Tori shrugs. "I didn't do much."

"How was Cat?" Jade asks, her hands fiddling with the back pockets of Beck's dress pants. She frowns when his wallet isn't there.

"Uh, she was okay," Tori begins softly. "I had a hard time getting her to sleep. She was convinced someone was hiding in her room sooo she's in your bed. Night!"

"Ugh, Vega!" Jade starts, squirming to get down. When she lands on her feet she grabs the back of Tori's shirt and pulls her back. "What do you mean she's in our bed? I was planning on having sex with Beck because guess what? I don't have the urge to puke anymore!"

Beck pulls Jade away and rubs her back. "Babe, calm down. It's fine."

"I'm going to check on the baby," Jade mumbles in defeat, stumbling up the stairs.

"Everything else okay?" Beck prods gently. He can see the fear and worry all over Tori's face. "You can tell me, Tori."

Tori wrings her hands together nervously. "She was fine all night. And then all of a sudden, she's, she's yelling and screaming that someone's in the room trying to hurt her. She thought I was trying to steal her thoughts or something…it was scary."

Beck reaches out and squeezes Tori's shoulder when he hears the break in her voice.

"When I finally got her to calm down she kept, she kept mumbling to herself and couldn't really carry on a conversation. Is she hearing-"

"Voices?" Beck whispers. "Yeah, I think so. The other night she started yelling at me because she thought I said she was mean for breaking up with Robbie."

"Andre stopped by earlier and she wouldn't even look at him."

Beck sighs and rubs his face, hoping Cat sleeps through the night. It's a constant cycle; she falls asleep around ten, wakes up frantically in the middle of the night, and sleeps straight on until the late afternoon. Earlier, Beck had to drag her out of bed at 3:30 in the afternoon. Cat didn't speak to anyone but Lucy until it was time for them to leave for dinner. Then, she clung to Jade and only went with Tori after a bribe of popcorn and a movie of her choice. Even Jade felt bad for Tori when Cat declared they were going to watch all three _Toy Story _movies.

"How's Jade doing?" Tori can't help but ask.

"She's falling apart," Beck laughs sadly. "She's trying so hard to hold it together but she's breaking. She's worrying herself sick."

"Well, if you need anything…" Tori trails off when she hears a bang from upstairs. She grabs Beck's wrist when he turns around to go upstairs. "I'll go," she smiles wearily. "You look like you need a break, too."

Tori skips up the stairs and breathes a sigh of relief when it's just Jade stumbling around in the hallway. "You look like Bambi when he learned how to walk."

"Can it, Vega," Jade snips, using the wall for support. "What the hell is in my child's mouth by the way?"

"What?" Tori shrugs innocently. "It's a mustache pacifier! Isn't it adorable?"

"Uh, no," Jade corrects matter-of-factly. "You're starting to scare me with this little mustache fetish of yours. You need to get laid."

"Are you done?"

Jade stares at Tori before shrugging. "That's all I got for tonight."

Tori helps guide Jade into her bedroom, crossing her fingers and toe that Cat stays asleep through it all. She holds Jade's waist again when the drunk girl stumbles again. Tori drags Jade into the bathroom and shuts the door behind them with her foot.

"Unzip my dress," Jade whines, stomping her foot childishly when she realizes she can't do it herself. "Vegaaaa!"

"Oookaay," Tori whines back with a laugh. She quickly unzips Jade's dress and watches it fall down to her feet.

"Stop staring at my chest," Jade commands, reaching for her pajamas that are bundled up in the corner of the room. "Close your eyes!"

Tori turns around with an eye roll and helps Jade brush her teeth. "Where' my boyfriend?" she asks in confusion, falling limp in Tori's arms. "Why are we having a pseudo lesbian experience right now when Beck could be doing all of this?"

"I just love you so much, Jade," Tori whispers in Jade's ear, giggling when Jade shrieks and tries to pull away. "Relax, drunky. I'm just getting you to bed."

"You better not be getting in there with me," Jade warns. As much as she hates to admit it, she's glad Tori's giving Beck a break as well. She allows the bony girl to practically carry her to bed and carefully place her beside Cat. "Now leave."

"No goodnight kiss?"

Jade reaches out and smacks Tori's thigh. "Don't you dare wake Cat," Tori warns, jumping back to avoid Jade's flailing arms.

"Goodnight, Vega!" Jade groans into her pillow. "Go get me some water before you go. And some aspirin. Now!" She feels the bed shift and grips the blankets tighter, just hoping and praying Cat doesn't wake up.

"You're nuts," Tori tells Jade in amusement. She turns on her heel but stops dead in her tracks when she hears Cat sit up and bed and whimper audibly.

"I, I knew it!"

At the sound of Cat's voice, Jade forces herself to sit up. Her best friend does the same and stares directly at Tori. "You think I'm crazy!"

"What?" Tori asks, clearly dumbfounded. She shares a concerned look with Jade when she flicks on the lamp on the nightstand. "What are you talking about?"

"I heard you talking to her!" Cat continues to yell, tugging at Mr. Purple's ear to curb her anger. "You both think I'm nuts, don't you?"

Jade, who's now suddenly sober, rubs Cat's back. She winces when Cat cowers away.

"Cat, nobody thinks you're crazy."

But Cat doesn't listen. She starts rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently to herself while continuing to tug on her stuffed animal's ear. "No, no, no," she cries to herself. "Stop! Please, stop."

Tori kneels on the bed and places her hand on Cat's knee. "Cat, hey, hey, look at me."

Cat shakes her head back and forth. "No! No!"

"Take a deep breath, Cat," Jade instructs, scooting closer to her trembling friend.

It's like Cat's in another world. She's gazing intently at the dark bedspread and talking to herself. Jade's straining her ears to listen but it's no use; Cat's sentences are all warped and jumbled. It's like she's not even speaking English.

"Look at me," Jade pleads. She feels the tears stinging in her eyes. "It's Jade. And Tori. Come on, Cat. We're your best friends."

Cat peers up at the two girls as if they're strangers. "No," she protests. "My best friends don't look a thing like you two! They're taller and, and they don't think I'm nuts! I'm going to tell Jadey and Beck that you were in their house! They're going to call the police on you!"

Tori swallows past the lump in her throat. "Cat, it's us. What are you talking about?"

"You heard what I said," Cat snaps, her face scrunching up in annoyance. "I'm talking loud enough, aren't I?"

"Baby girl," Jade's voice cracks. She lets the tears fall down her cheeks when Cat shrinks away again.

Cat's eyes flicker angrily at Jade. "_Don't_ call me that! Only Jade can call me that! That's her special nickname for me and nobody else gets to use it!"

"I'm Jade!" Jade cries out in frustration. When Cat begins to protest, she continues to stare at her best friend sadly. "Stop it. Stop it right now. You know who we are."

Tori takes a deep breath and tries to steady her wobbling lip. "Cat, we would never ever think you're crazy. Why would you think that?"

Cat starts laughing uncontrollably. It makes Jade scoot closer to Tori and reach for her hand in complete fear. Minutes later, Cat drops her head into her hands and the next thing she knows, she's bursting into hysterical sobs.

Jade and Tori share a look of concern before pulling their friend into their arms. Cat's sobs are getting louder and louder as she desperately clings to the two older girls like a lifeline. "P-please make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Make what stop?" Tori asks softly, rubbing Cat's back.

Cat swallows past the lump in her throat. "Just make it all stop! They, they told me you weren't Tori and Jade. You looked different! They told me you thought I was crazy and, and they made me say those things!"

"Who's 'they?'" Jade asks Cat gently, pulling the little redhead into her lap and holding her as tight as possible. "You can tell us, baby girl."

"No!" Cat wails, clinging to Jade. "I can't say…they'll hurt me."

"No one's going to hurt you," Tori promises, running her fingers through Cat's tangled hair.

Cat whimpers in protest and refuses to let go of Jade. She hears the bedroom door open and knows it's Beck. But before Beck can come any closer, Lucy's cries prevent that. He sighs and mumbles "I'll get her," before shutting the door behind him.

"I woke Lucy up," Cat sniffles into Jade's shirt. "I'm, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Jade says reassuringly. "Beck's got her."

"I don't want her to be mad at me!"

Tori can't help but smile. "She won't be mad at you."

Between Jade rocking her back and forth and Tori rubbing soothing circles on her back, Cat falls back asleep pretty quickly. Jade lets another sigh escape and rests her chin on Cat's shoulder. "Is she out?"

"She's out," Tori confirms sadly. She helps Jade gently ease Cat back down on the bed and tuck Mr. Purple under her arm. "Do you want me to stay?"

Jade nods tiredly and rolls off the bed. "I'm going to check on Beck. You can borrow some pajamas if you want."

Tori gets off the bed and accepts the pajamas Jade's practically forcing in her hands. Jade tiptoes out of the room and nearly bumps into Beck. "She's already asleep?"

"Yeah," Beck yawns, pulling Jade in for a hug. "Am I exiled to the guest room?"

All Jade can do is shrug and stare up at Beck with a shy smile. "We finally got Cat to calm down. Vega's gonna stay the night…"

"Okay," Beck smiles, kissing Jade's forehead. "Jade," he calls out after her when she starts to head back to the bedroom. "We have to do something. I heard her freak out all the way downstairs."

"I know," Jade whispers in defeat. "I know. But for now, I just, I Just want to go to sleep." She kisses Beck goodnight and reappears in the bedroom quietly. Tori's already curled up next to Cat, stroking her hair and keeping her calm.

"Maybe tomorrow we should take her out somewhere," Tori says once Jade settles herself into bed. "It might do her some good to get her out of the house."

"If we can get her to leave," Jade mumbles with a yawn. "I have to drag her out of bed and force her in the shower."

Tori sighs and kisses Cat's head before rolling over. "Goodnight, Jade."

"Night," Jade replies. She snuggles close to Cat and drapes an arm around her waist, holding her close so Cat knows she's not alone. She can't help but smile when she feels Cat's small hand grab her own. "Night, baby girl."

"Night, night, Jadey," Cat responds after a few minutes. For a second, it's the old Cat. The old Cat that Jade wishes would come back, even if just for a day. "You keep all the voices away."

Jade pretends not to hear Cat's revelation and kisses the back of her head, letting her tears slip into the stringy locks of red hair tickling her cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this is kind of short. I've been feeling kind of unmotivated but I got a little bit of inspiration last night. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Jade's honestly on the verge of tears while she watches Beck quickly pack a small suitcase. She bites her nails nervously, perching herself on the bed and sighing dramatically when Beck doesn't pay any attention to her.

"What?" he finally asks, taking the bait and sitting next to Jade.

"You can't go," Jade demands shortly. Her voice is so raspy and full of exhaustion. She hasn't slept in almost a month. "I can't do this alone."

Beck kisses her forehead. "It's just for the night," he promises, pulling her trembling body close. All the pressure Jade's been under is slowly but surely making her crumble. Cat's been with them for almost a month now and she's gotten so much worse and damn near unrecognizable. Every time Beck suggests they take action, Jade makes an excuse and almost always ends up in tears. Beck honestly thinks this is the most he's ever seen Jade cry in their seven-year relationship.

"Can't you audition over Skype?" Jade tries one more time, her fingers gripping the back of Beck's shirt desperately.

"They want to meet me in person," Beck says, rubbing Jade's back. "It's only in San Francisco, babe," he reminds her reassuringly. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon."

It takes Jade a minute or two to finally admit she's afraid. "I can't be alone with her, Beck," she divulges heartbreakingly. "And I can't take care of Lucy alone either."

Beck has noticed that whenever Jade's with Lucy, Cat gets extremely possessive and jealous, something she's never exhibited before. She follows Jade around like a lost puppy (on the days where she recognizes her). There are days when Cat won't leave the room, but when she does, they're constantly walking on eggshells. Cat won't eat any of the food they've made because sometimes she thinks it's poisoned. The little redhead's PearPhone is completely destroyed as she threw it against the wall in the middle of a conversation with her mother because she thought someone was listening in.

"I'm sure my mom can take Lucy…"

Jade shakes her head. "I've barely spent any time with her as it is," she admits, feeling guilty as all hell. It's the truth though. Since Cat came, the baby has been almost pushed aside. "I've been neglecting her."

"No," Beck says in protest. "No, you haven't." He slips his hand up the back of Jade's shirt and rubs the small of her back until her small sniffles begin to dissipate. "Maybe Tori can take Cat then."

"Tori and Andre are in San Diego this weekend," Jade snaps in frustration. She pulls back and wipes her eyes, shooting straight up off the bed when she hears Lucy's faint cries. Beck tries to protest, but she stops him and practically runs out of the room.

Beck finishes packing and decides to check in with Cat. They've had a seemingly good day and he hopes Cat can keep it together for the rest of the weekend. It's imperative for Jade's sanity. When he reaches her door, he sighs when Cat's just staring into space. She looks so robotic and emotionless.

"Cat?"

Nothing. It's like an ongoing battle these days.

"Cat?" Beck tries again. Normally, it takes Cat a minute or two to come around, but when she continues to ignore him, he clears his throat. "Cat!"

Nothing. She barely blinks the fifth time Beck calls her name

Beck strides over to the bed and gently prods Cat's shoulder. This prompts Cat to pull away with a petrified whimper. She rolls off the bed and backs herself into a corner.

"Sorry," Beck apologizes, holding his hands up to let Cat know he meant no harm. "I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave."

Cat's bottom lip begins to quiver. "Y-you're leaving?"

"I have an audition in San Francisco," Beck tells her softly. He's learned over the past month to keep his voice soft and steady. Anything else alarms Cat and makes her paranoid. "I'll be back tomorrow though."

"Kay, kay." Cat's eyes begin to blink excessively, her gaze never leaving Beck's.

"Can I have a hug?"

"No," Cat whispers, hugging her arms tight to her chest. She peers down at the carpeted floor and starts mumbling to herself. "Just go!"

Beck sees the expression change in Cat's face and knows it's time to just walk away. He waves pitifully at her and decides it's best to leave the bedroom door open so Jade can keep an eye on her.

"Don't get her started," Jade says from behind, shifting Lucy to her other hip. She passes the baby to Beck so he can say goodbye and steps into Cat's room. "Cat, get in the shower. Now."

Cat hisses at Jade in annoyance. "No!" she yells, whipping her head back and forth as a sign of protest.

"You haven't showered in four days, Cat," Jade practically yells back. She looks at Beck angrily and stomps into her friend's room, seizing her by the arm. It sets Cat off immediately.

Cat's shrieks are enough to make Lucy cry so Beck quickly rushes down the stairs. He can tell by the expression on the infant's face that she doesn't even know who Cat is anymore. Before, her little face would light up as she stared at Cat in fascination. Now, Lucy wouldn't even let Cat hold her without crying in protest.

"Let me go! You're, you're making me dirty! I don't want you touching me!"

Jade ignores Cat's pleas and drags her into the bathroom. "Well, it's a good thing you're getting in the shower then," she quips sarcastically. "Get in or I will throw you in fully clothed."

It takes Cat a minute but she reluctantly peels off her shirt. Jade has to turn away because her ribs are beginning to protrude slightly. She's lost a significant amount of weight in so little time. When Cat finally gets in the shower, Jade breathes a sigh of relief and lingers in the hallway with the bathroom door slightly ajar. She doesn't trust Cat alone in the shower.

Beck returns with a dry-eyed Lucy, who's sucking contently on her new favorite pacifier that Tori gave her. Jade rolls her eyes and thinks it's ridiculous how it makes the baby look like she has a mustache.

"My cab's here," Beck whispers, handing Lucy to Jade.

Jade notices the infant has got Mr. Purple in a death grip. Cat had given it to her days ago after she claimed it was "contaminated." It had honestly broke Jade's heart. Mr. Purple had been around for as long as she and Cat were friends. However, the stuffed giraffe was in good hands now. Lucy enjoyed chewing on its neck as she was starting to teeth.

"Everything will be fine," Beck promises, alternating between kissing Jade's lips and the top of Lucy's forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

All Jade can do is nod and brace herself for what's to come. She bounces Lucy on her hip, reveling in the comfort scene of her baby cooing in delight.

When Cat finally gets out of the shower close to twenty minutes later, Jade demands she gets dressed. They have to go to the grocery store and there's no way she can leave Cat alone in the house. It's not even an option at this point.

"I'm ready," Cat says dully once she throws her bedroom door open rather quickly.

Jade closes her eyes and doesn't start a fight when Cat's dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a one size too small neon yellow tank top. She looks like a damn highlighter. The purple hoodie she's wearing makes it worse. Jade forces a smile and quickly ushers her out the door.

Twenty minutes in, everything is going rather smoothly. Cat's practically walking up Jade's butt and usually that would perturb Jade, but for right now, she can deal with it.

"Jade, Jade, Jade," Cat chants quietly, tugging on her friend's shirtsleeve childishly. "Jadey, that man is following us."

Jade looks behind them and finds a harmless elderly man chugging along with his walker. "No, he's not."

"Uh huh," Cat protests, wide-eyed. "He's been following us down this aisle!" She wraps her arms around Jade's waist, halting the taller girl before she can move any further. "I wanna go home!"

"Cat, please," Jade begs. At least Lucy's behaving. She's staring at all the things on the shelf in wonderment. "We're almost done."

Cat whimpers but nods her head petulantly. She latches onto Jade's hand and follows close behind her like a small child would. Jade has a hard time pushing the cart with just one hand but she somehow manages it. When they reach the cereal aisle, Cat pulls away in excitement.

Jade allows Cat to hop down the aisle, running her hand all along the brightly colored boxes. It's like the old Cat is back for a visit. Jade's not too sure how long it's going to last but she revels in the sight of her redheaded best friend clutching a box of Lucky Charms to her chest.

"Can we get these?" Cat asks with puppy dog eyes. "Please, please, please?"

Jade reluctantly agrees and allows Cat to throw the box of cereal into their crowded cart. She reaches for her cell phone and begins reading a lengthy text message from Beck. Instead of a simple "I'm here," he rambles on about the flight and how he almost got into a fight with the flight attendant.

"Jade? Can I go get a box of spaghetti? It's only in the next aisle! I'll be quick!"

Jade's too absorbed in responding to Beck's text and quickly mumbles something that Cat takes as a yes. Lucy carefully watches Cat hop yet again down the aisle and cries in distress.

"What?" Jade questions softly, softly tickling Lucy's cheek. The infant points her fist down the aisle. "There's nothing there, baby," she laughs, kissing Lucy's forehead. "I think you're seeing things."

Then, it hits her.

"Shit," Jade can't help but curse when she realizes Cat's gone. "Shit, shit, shit." She covers Lucy's little ears and lets out an elongated "fuck" before rushing down the aisle.

Cat's nowhere to be found.

She checks every aisle at least three times and there's no sign of a petite redhead anywhere. Lucy giggles while Jade zigzags up and down the cereal aisle again. She obviously thinks it's a game. People look at her like she's crazy when she frantically asks if anyone has seen a synthetic redhead wearing mismatched clothes.

It's nearly an hour later when she forces herself to call Robbie in hysterics because he's the only one around. She drops Lucy off with Beck's mom and proceeds to check every place under the sun in Los Angeles. Robbie's sitting anxiously in the passenger seat, his eyes glued to his cell phone.

"I can try and track her phone…"

Jade grips the steering wheel tightly at a red light. "She smashed her phone against the wall the other day."

Robbie doesn't even want to ask why. "Do you want me to call her mom?"

After much contemplation, Jade reluctantly agrees. There's no way she can bring herself to take Cat to the hospital. It would be too emotional. She tunes out Robbie explaining the whole situation and bites back a fresh set of tears when she pulls into the empty parking lot of the Freezy Queen in Calabasas. Cat's nowhere to be found.

"I'm sure she's fine," Robbie tries to assure Jade once they've given up after a solid four hours of searching. "Maybe she went to her Nona's."

Jade doesn't want to think about how Cat would even get to Venice. She pours herself a cup of coffee and starts to crumble when she sees Beck is calling. After six or seven missed calls, he probably thinks someone has died. Robbie steps out to give Jade some privacy and tells her he's going to do some more searching. The sun is starting to set and he's beginning to get nervous.

Before Beck can even muster a sentence, Jade breaks down into a fit of sobs and she's begging and pleading for him to come home. There's nothing Beck can say to make her feel better. She's slumped down on the kitchen floor, her knees pulled up to her chest while she frantically sobbing for him to come home now.

Beck doesn't hesitate. He stays on the phone while he quickly books a last minute flight home. It costs an arm and a leg and takes almost two hours, but he's finally home, rushing through the door. Jade's still in the kitchen, her eyes blotchy and red. She barely registers him coming in.

"It's okay, babe, I'm here. I'm here," Beck tells her once she realizes that he's finally home. She bursts into more sobs and clings to him.

"I took my eyes off her for one second," Jade manages to get out between sobs, her fingers digging into Beck's back.

"We'll find her," Beck says. But the crack in his voice tells Jade otherwise. He scoops Jade up and starts for the stairs. "You're exhausted, Jade. You need to get some sleep."

Jade shakes her head in protest and struggles to get down. "How am I supposed to sleep when Cat's out there somewhere?"

"Calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Jade snaps once she's back on her feet. She pulls at her hair in frustration. "I can't do this anymore, Beck! I give up."

Beck just nods. "I know, Jade. I know."

"I know she's…" Jade swallows past the lump in her throat. It kills her for even thinking about the next words spilling out her mouth. "I know she's schizophrenic. Just like her brother. She's just like her brother."

"I know."

"And they're going to lock her up just like him."

"You don't know that."

Jade shrugs off Beck's comforting touch. "No, I do," she corrects harshly while backing away. "Her mom's on her way out here and, and she's going to take Cat away to Idaho. I know it, you know it."

"I won't let that happen," Beck promises, finally holding Jade tight in his arms when she gives up the fight. "She's staying here."

Jade goes limp in Beck's arms and begrudgingly allows him to carry her up to bed. Robbie's keeping them updated via text and Tori and Andre are now on their way back from San Diego. Jade's trying to find comfort in Beck's smooth hand rubbing up and down in her back but it's no use. She thinks about all the times when Luke Valentine ran away and was gone for days. When they did find him, he was all disoriented and thrown in the psych ward for observation. She knows deep down that's what Cat needs but she's not ready to face the fact that her best friend will be taken from her.

The phone rings and Jade jolts, squinting tiredly at the unknown number.

"Answer it," Beck encourages. "It could be Cat."

Jade hesitates, her thumb hovering over the "accept" button. "Hello?" she finally answers, her voice cracking almost immediately.

"Hello? I'm looking for Jade West."

Jade swears she feels her heart stop. "I'm Jade West."

"Oh." There's a slight giggle and Jade wants to reach through the phone and smack whomever is on the other end. "I'm calling from Cedars Sinai medical center in regard to Cat Valentine. She was brought in moments ago and you're listed as her emergency contact."

Jade's eyes widen as she reaches for Beck's wrist. "Is, is she okay?"

"You just better get down here as soon as you can."


	6. Chapter 6

**I apologize for the wait again! Especially after the cliffhanger in the last chapter. Life got in the way and I wasn't sure how I wanted this chapter to go. You made need tissues. Is it sad that I teared up while writing this? Brace yourselves!**

* * *

"Jade, sit down. You're making me dizzy."

Jade promptly ignores Beck's request and continues pacing, her gaze flickering between the bright white tiled floor and all of the other patients waiting frantically in the emergency room.

"Have some coffee," Beck tries again.

This time, Jade whips around and scowls. "No," she hisses. "It tastes like sludge."

Beck mentally agrees but it doesn't stop him from polishing off his third cup. He crushes the Styrofoam cup in between his palms and tosses it in the trash. Jade starts to pace again, glancing at the clock. It's nearing 2 am and they've been in the ER for almost an hour and a half. When they got there, a burly police officer briefed them on Cat's condition; she was found in a park near Clearwater, wandering around like a lost child. The policeman mentioned how disorientated she was but was soon able to tell him her name. When he disappeared, they began to wait for some doctor who apparently treated Cat's brother before.

"Let's go for a walk," Beck suggests, his hand lacing through Jade's. He's looking down at her pleadingly, watching her lifeless green eyes flutter shut. "Tori and Andre should be here soon. Maybe you should go home and rest. I'll stay."

Jade shakes her head and allows Beck to hold her. "No," she argues weakly. She lifts her tired arms and encloses them around Beck's waist. "I'm staying."

Beck knows not to argue and begins to rock Jade back and forth. Time is passing slowly and no matter how many times he keeps looking at the clock, it's not helping. The ER is eerily busy and he wonders if Cat's okay. They could hear screaming, very distinct screaming, but Beck _promised_ Jade it wasn't Cat. Luckily, they later found out it was a young woman who needed her shoulder popped back in its socket.

"How much longer?" Jade asks quietly. She tries to find comfort in the circles Beck's rubbing on her lower back but it's not helping. It's impossible not to think about Cat and how she is and what she's doing.

"I don't know."

They hear shuffling and muffled voices merely seconds later. It's Tori and Andre; both out of breath and with exhaustion clear on their faces. They must have sped from San Diego.

"How is she?"

"Is she okay?"

"We don't know anything," Beck answers for Jade when he feels her grip getting tighter and tighter. "All we know is that they found her in a park and basically had no idea how she got there."

Tori holds a hand over her heart and grabs Andre's forearm for support. "What's going to happen?"

"We don't know, Vega," Jade snaps. She glares at the singer. "If we knew that, would we be standing here?"

Andre rubs Tori's back when she looks like she's about to breakdown. "Robbie called and say Mrs. Valentine's flight got delayed. He's just going to wait at the airport for her."

"That's probably for the best," Tori whispers. She sighs when Jade looks like she's on the verge of tears but decides against pointing it out. "I'm sure it will be okay."

Jade ignores Tori's shaky revelation and lets Beck drag her over to an uncomfortable plastic chair. She tries to occupy her mind by watching the muted TV showing an old episode of _Friends_. It only makes her think of Cat and how much her little friend enjoys that show. It makes her laugh like nothing else.

Andre tries to make small talk, desperately hoping to change the subject that's convoluting everyone's minds. He plays with a stray piece of hair that's fallen out of his ponytail and wonders about Cat and how they all just missed the signs. Sure, she'd always been a little out there but he remembers an incidents months and months ago where she just started saying outlandish things that he could only laugh at. It seemed like typical Cat, spouting off ridiculous things that made no sense. It was nothing out of the ordinary, at least to him.

Boy, was he wrong.

Another half-hour passes and Jade stands up, clearly unable to take anymore.

"Babe," Beck warns when Jade's about to storm over to the front desk.

"I'm tired of waiting," Jade attempts to yell, but it comes out as a strangled whimper. She's reduced to tears, clutching Beck's jacket like a lifeline.

"We all are," Beck soothes. He motions for Tori and Andre to give them a minute and he's grateful when they immediately disappear. "Just take a breath."

But Jade can't breathe. It's like all the air has been drained out of her lungs. The room is spinning and as much as she's gripping Beck's leather jacket, she feels her fingers slipping. Beck's scoops her up and just holds her as she thrashes all around, trying to break free. He simply tightens his arms around her waist and just sits down with her in his lap, whispering into her hair.

"Let me go!" Jade protests, elbowing Beck in the chest.

"Jade, calm down. Please," Beck whispers, trying to smooth down Jade's tangled hair. It's all in her face and hiding her tear stained cheeks. "Ssh, it's okay."

"It's not okay!" Jade screams. She gives up her fight and just buries herself in Beck's arms. "It's not okay! What are they doing with her?"

"I don't know," Beck answers honestly. He bites down on his bottom lip and tries to keep it together. But he can't. "I don't know," his voice breaks.

Jade sniffles and frantically rubs her eyes. Her worse fear is that they've already committed Cat without letting her say goodbye to anyone. "I want to see Cat."

Beck just holds Jade tighter, ignoring the stares from annoyed patrons. He wants to tell them off because they have no idea what they're going through. He wants to yell at them for trying to take photos and videos that will probably end up on TMZ before the sun rises. But he can't. His main focus is on getting Jade calm, which is easier said than done.

He's surprised when Jade takes the cup off coffee from Tori's trembling hand a mutters a polite "thank you." But when Andre offers him one, he shakes his head and strokes Jade's arm. She's seemingly calm for now.

"Any word?" Tori asks through sips of coffee.

Jade shakes her head. "No."

Andre sighs and squeezes Tori's hand. The four of them instantly sit up straight when a tired looking doctor languidly makes her way to the waiting room. She scans the crowd before fixing her gaze to Jade.

"I'm assuming one of you is Jadey?"

Jade can't help but laugh. It's like music to Beck's ears. "I am."

"Come with me," the doctor demands hastily. When the others go to stand up, she halts them. "I just need Ms. West."

Beck goes to protest but Jade silences him with a kiss. "I can do this," she promises, reaching down to grab his hand. She follows the flustered doctor through a door that's labeled "authorized personnel only." She feels her stomach drop to her feet while they pass numerous nurses, some covered in blood.

"Is Cat okay?" Jade asks timidly.

The doctor whips around. "I'm Dr. Tyson," she says shortly. "I've previously dealt with Caterina's brother. Follow me."

"Okay," Jade blinks. "But is she okay?" she prods again.

"Physically, yes," Dr. Tyson mumbles with a nod. They stop outside what Jade assumes to be the little room where Cat is. "Mentally, no. When the police found her, she was very disorientated and had no idea how she got there. Given her family's case of mental illness, I'd like to perform a full medical evaluation on her."

Jade doesn't know how to react. She simply nods her head. "O-okay."

"To do that, I have to admit her." When Jade stays silent, Dr. Tyson continues. "I don't think Caterina is quite aware of what is going to happen."

"What is going to happen?" Jade finally asks. She feels like a small child as she desperately waits for Dr. Tyson's response.

"We are going to admit her to the psych ward and perform a full evaluation so we can get a proper diagnosis. Her symptoms aren't quite as severe as her brother's so it's hard to tell what she's suffering from."

Jade blinks back the tears and wrings her hands nervously. "When, when are you going to admit her?"

"We're clearing a room for her as we speak."

It feels like Jade's been punched in the stomach. She can't help but let the tears trickle down her cheeks as she holds on to the wall for support. It's too fast. Everything's moving too, too fast. "How long is she going to be in there for?"

"Until we feel she's competent enough to be on her own," Dr. Tyson explains with no trace of emotion in her voice. "Once we get a diagnosis, we'll be able to start her on a regimen of pills to help. It could be a few weeks, could be a few months."

Jade stifles a sob and forces a hand over her mouth. "Can I see her?"

"You may." Dr. Tyson gestures to the door behind Jade. "Keep it brief. Don't startle her or else we may have to sedate her. She's already on edge."

Jade swallows past the lump in her throat and coaxes herself into opening the door to the closet size room Cat is in. There's a peppy nurse with flaming red hair sitting at Cat's beside. Cat's curled up on the bed staring into space. She looks so confused and so tired. Jade knows she has to be strong. But it's hard when she knows Cat's going to be hauled off to the psych ward in a matter of minutes.

"Cat?" Jade whispers, taking small steps into the room.

The nurse shakes Cat. "You have a visitor, sweetie."

Cat just whimpers and shies away from the nurse's gentle touch. "No."

"Cat, it's me," Jade says a little louder. She's grateful when the nurse doesn't need to be told to give them some time alone. Once the door clicks behind her, Jade takes the empty seat and places her hand on Cat's back. "Baby girl, look at me."

It takes Cat a minute or two to register Jade's presence. When she does, she rolls herself over and looks at Jade's watery eyes. "Don't cry, Jadey." Her voice is not at all comforting but Jade appreciates the effort.

"You scared me," Jade admits, her fingers brushing the hair off Cat's forehead. "I, I've been worried sick about you all night."

"Oh," Cat sighs, her gaze refusing to meet Jade's. "I didn't think you'd care."

"What?" Jade snaps, her eyes widening. She takes a breath when Cat lets out a small cry and flinches. "Why would you even think that?"

Cat sits up and plays with her sleeves. "I dunno," she admits. Her voice is slowly regaining life. "They, they told me you wouldn't care."

"Who did?"

"They told me that you don't want me anymore," Cat begins in a trembling tone. She stares at the white wall and lets out a whimper. "Since you have Lucy now you don't have time for me. They said you're better off without me."

"Cat," Jade broke in quietly. "Look at me."

The redhead ignores Jade's request. "You don't love me anymore."

"Stop that," Jade pleads, easing herself on the bed. "You know I would do anything for you."

Cat shakes her head in protest. "They told me you wouldn't care if I ran away. I, I thought you would come find me! I ran and ran and when you never came, I knew they were right! You don't want me anymore."

"I looked everywhere for you, Cat," Jade promises, squeezing Cat's hand. She tightens her grip when Cat goes to pull away. "The voices you're hearing are wrong. You are my best friend. I would never, _ever_ leave you. Understand?"

Cat pulls her hands free and covers her ears. She cries in protest when Jade hugs her and refuses to let go. "Let me go! Stop, stop, stop," she whimpers. "Stop!"

"No," Jade says defiantly. "I'm not letting you go until you understand how much I care about you. How much Beck, Tori, Andre, and Robbie care about you."

"No! Robbie doesn't care about me! He wants to hurt me!"

Jade closes her eyes and begins to softly sing in Cat's ear. Cat still tries to wiggle free but eventually gives up and throws her arms around Jade's neck. "Jadey, make it stop," she sobs quietly. "Please make it stop!"

"They're going to help you. I promise," Jade whispers into Cat's ear.

Cat shakes her head. "I don't want you to leave me! Ever! You promised," she hiccups, tightening her hold on Jade. "I want you to help me!"

"I can't," Jade admits after a long pause. She sniffles and chews her bottom lip while rubbing Cat's back. "I can't help you."

"Yes, you can," Cat argues back through several sobs. "You can. You didn't even try! You're just giving up on me like my mom and dad gave up on me."

Jade closes her eyes. She lets Cat slip away and cower into a ball of tears. "I'm not giving up on you, baby girl. You're…sick."

"I am not!" Cat snaps, her tiny foot attempting to push Jade off the bed.

"You are."

"I am not," Cat whimpers into her hands before breaking out into a full-blown sob.

Jade's lost track of time because the next thing she knows, Beck, Tori, and Andre are being shuffled into the room by Dr. Tyson. She mutters something about two minutes and Jade knows it's time.

Beck immediately wraps Jade in his arms. It makes her breakdown automatically. Tori rubs Cat's back and tries to get her to calm down. But it's no use. They've lost her. Andre hangs back and eventually has to pull Tori away because Cat keeps getting agitated with her touches.

Cat hides under the covers and tries her very best to block out all the crying from her friends. She slams her eyes shut and shies away from anyone's soft touch. The noise inside her head is overpowering everything.

"We talked to the doctor," Andre says solemnly, scratching his head. "They're ready."

"How long are they keeping her for?" Tori whispers. She wipes her eyes with the back of her palm and holds Andre's arm for support.

"I don't know," Jade answers robotically. "Until they think she's competent."

Beck kisses the back of Jade's head and helps steady her. "We should get going. I don't think she's going to say goodbye."

Dr. Tyson quietly enters the room with a large orderly behind her. Even Beck feels terrified. Cat's still hiding under the blankets and things are going to get real messy if they don't get out of there. "Let's go," he whispers to his friends. But Jade stays put, gazing at the lump that is her best friend.

"Caterina," Dr. Tyson begins, patting what she assumes to be Cat's back. "Let's go, dear."

Cat doesn't respond.

"Caterina," Dr. Tyson tries again. This time, her voice is firm.

"You have to be gentle with her," Jade snaps, shrugging Beck's grip off her. "She doesn't like when people are mean to her."

Dr. Tyson clears her throat and lifts the sheet off Cat. "Come on."

Cat shakes her head petulantly and sits up. She looks at Jade, then back at the doctor, and back to Jade. "Jade?" she whimpers. "Jadey? I want to go home."

"You, you can't," Jade whispers with a sad smile. There's no use in keeping her tears back. "You have to stay here for a while."

"Why?" Cat asks like a small child. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not," Beck answers for Jade, leaning forward to ruffle her hair.

"Then why do I have to go?"

"It's for the best," Dr. Tyson says shortly. "Can you walk with me?"

Cat shrinks and shakes her head. "I don't want to go with you!" she cries, reaching for Jade. "I'm going with Jade!"

Andre has to escort Tori out of the room because her sobs keep getting louder and louder. Cat just looks so confused that Beck has to turn away. "Jade," the little redhead begins to cry. "Jadey, don't leave me!"

Jade looks at Dr. Tyson pleadingly. She just needs two minutes. "I promise they're going to take good care of you. If they don't, I'll get them with my scissors. The special scissors you gave for me for Christmas."

"I don't wanna go," Cat repeats, throwing herself into Jade's arms. She holds on to her best friend tightly when she feels herself being lifted off the bed. "I'll be a good girl, I promise. I'll try harder!"

Beck rubs Cat's back and kisses her head. "Cat, you're going to be fine."

"No," Cat protests, She has Jade in an iron grip. "I didn't mean to be bad. It, it wasn't me! It was the voices."

"Ssh, sssh," Jade soothes, rocking Cat back and forth. "I know, baby girl. But you have to stay here…the doctors are going to help you so you won't hear voices anymore. Okay?"

"No, it's not okay! I'm not my brother! I'm not crazy!"

Dr. Tyson motions for Jade to wrap this up. She's ready to sic the orderly on Cat.

"Cat, I have to put you down now," Jade whispers, tears streaming down her cheeks in buckets. She takes a deep breath and attempts to put Cat down but frowns when Cat refuses to let go. "Baby girl, come on. Either you get down or Beck's going to have to pull you away."

Cat doesn't loosen her grip. "Please, please, please, please," she sobs hysterically, bouncing in Jade's arms. "Don't leave me! I'll be better! I promise, promise, promise."

When the orderly takes a step toward them, Beck reaches for Cat. It will be less traumatizing for both Cat and Jade if he separates them. Cat immediately screeches and reaches for Jade when Beck finally pulls her free.

"Jadey!" It's a sound that will surely haunt Jade for quite some time. She has to turn away when Beck reluctantly passes Cat off to the strange man. Cat's still screaming her name and it's killing her.

Andre and Tori quietly step back in the room and they all hug each other tightly. It's quite possibly the hardest thing they've ever had to deal with. Beck tries to hold himself together for Jade's sake but loses it when his girlfriend sinks to the floor and just openly sobs. He knows there's nothing he can do to help her and that single thought terrifies him.

Jade's broken. They all are.


	7. Chapter 7

Ellen Valentine is a lot older than Beck remembers. Her once brown hair is now peppered with gray streaks and it looks like she hasn't slept in a few days. Not that he can talk; both he and Jade have had a rough three nights. After the orderly took Cat away, Dr. Tyson explained that Cat would be placed on a 72-hour hold, which meant no one would be able to see or talk to her. Jade instantly tried to fight it but it only made her more hysterical.

Beck watches Mrs. Valentine as she happily bounces Lucy up and down in her lap, pinching the baby's cheeks when she squeals.

"I can't believe how big she is," the elder woman comments, her gaze never leaving Lucy's. Beck can't help but smile. "It seems like yesterday Cat was calling to tell me she was going to be an aunt. Next thing you'll know Lucy will be dating."

"I don't think so," Beck chuckles uneasily. He's already made it clear to Jade that Lucy's not dating until she's 35. Jade thought it was funny but he didn't. No man was going to be good enough for his baby girl. "Jade and I are having a hard time with her growing three teeth. I don't want to think about her dating."

Mrs. Valentine smiles and puts Lucy down on the floor. The infant immediately reaches for Mr. Purple and babbles happily. She giggles when Beck leans down and rubs her soft head lovingly.

"They grow up right before your eyes," Mrs. Valentine says offhandedly. "It makes me wonder if I'll have grandchildren. With Luke in a permanent facility in Idaho and Cat…"

Beck awkwardly clears his throat and gets down on his knees next to Lucy. Both he and Jade have been showering their baby with extra love the past few days. "I'm sure you will, Mrs. Valentine," he promises quietly. "Cat will make a great mom one day."

"Hopefully."

When Lucy starts to fuss, Beck scoops her up. "I'm just going to put her down for a nap," he tells Mrs. Valentine. "Jade should be out of the shower by now.

"Take your time," Mrs. Valentine assures, rubbing her knees in anticipation.

Beck disappears up the stairs and is grateful when Lucy goes down pretty easily. Jade exits their bedroom around the same time and stares at Beck in annoyance. The last thing she wanted to do was face Mrs. Valentine. She wasn't in the mood to hear her future plans for Cat. Cat was practically her child and the thought of Mrs. Valentine taking her away really frightened Jade.

"Mrs. Valentine is downstairs," Beck informs Jade softly, reaching for her hand. He knows how tense she's been all morning.

Jade just shrugs and peers down at Lucy. "Did she go down okay?"

"Jade," Beck says, tilting Jade's chin up so their gazes met. "You've been running around for the past three days wondering how Cat was doing."

"Has she seen her?"

"Yes."

Jade crosses her arms and pouts. "I wanted to be the first one to see her."

"She needed her mom," Beck tells Jade sympathetically, kissing her head when she continues to pout.

"Yeah, the mom who abandoned her when she was sixteen," Jade scoffs bitterly. She grips the bar of Lucy's crib to curb her frustration and takes a deep breath. "I suppose I have to pretend to be nice to her."

Beck nods. "Just, just listen to what she has to say."

"Fine," Jade concedes with a dramatic sigh. She grabs Beck's hand and drags him out of the baby's room, softly shutting the door behind her. The last thing she wants to do is suck up to Mrs. Valentine but if it will get her information about Cat then she can deal with it.

Mrs. Valentine immediately stands up and smoothes out her dress when Jade practically stomps down the steps. "Jade," she greets, reaching for the young mother with open arms.

Jade reluctantly hugs Mrs. Valentine and forces a smile. "Hello, Mrs. Valentine."

"Oh, call me Ellen. You've known be for how long?"

"A long time," Jade says smartly. She clears her throat for Beck elbows her in the ribs for her sarcastic tone. "How's Cat?"

"She's, uh, she's okay," Mrs. Valentine says sadly. "Still confused. She doesn't know why she's there…poor baby."

Beck feels Jade's fingernails dig deeper into his forearm. "I'm sure it will take some time," he answers before Jade can cut in angrily.

"I hope," Mrs. Valentine begins, but pauses for a moment. "I've spoken with Dr. Tyson and while she's doing a wonderful job…."

Jade closes her eyes. She knows it's coming.

"…I think Cat may be better off with my husband and I in Idaho. The facility there has done wonders for Luke. It might be for the best."

Beck's already got his arm locked around Jade's waist to prevent her from attacking Mrs. Valentine. Jade bites her bottom lip and wills herself not to cry. She's sick of crying.

"No," she whispers, trying to break free from Beck.

"Jade, I know how much you love Cat," Mrs. Valentine smiles sadly, leaning forward to grab Jade's hand. She flinches when the younger woman pulls away and glares at her angrily. "But Cat needs me and I think Idaho will help her."

"Taking her away from everyone is not going to help," Jade argues rather calmly. It's actually kind of eerie.

Beck nods in agreement. "I think she's better off here."

"I understand where you're coming from, but she is my child. I think I know what's best for her."

"Babe," Beck whispers in Jade's hair, squeezing her mid-section. He can see the rage in her eyes and she's getting ready to snap. "Breathe."

Jade ignores Beck and stares pointedly at Mrs. Valentine. "You do, do you?" she challenges hotly. "You know what's best for Cat?"

"Yes," Mrs. Valentine says confidently, sitting up straighter in the comfortable leather recliner. "Look, Jade. I know I should have came when Robbie first called me a few months ago."

"No," Jade bites back, shoving Beck off her. "No. You should have came _four_ and a half god damn years ago when I called and told you Cat was living in the attic of Hollywood Arts. Where were you then? You, you just laughed when I told you."

Beck's attempts at calming Jade down remain futile. He knows once she gets going, especially when it pertains to Cat, nothing is going to stop her. So, he takes a breath and hovers behind her protectively just in case Mrs. Valentine decides to attack.

"I know and I'm sorry…."

"You're not taking her to Idaho," Jade finalizes. "I won't let you."

Mrs. Valentine tilts her head to the side in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Jade says matter-of-factly. She places her hands on her hips and attempts to gain authority over her best friend's mother. "She's staying here."

"She is my daughter, Jade. Not yours."

Jade rolls her eyes and looks to Beck for help. "You abandoned her when she needed you the most! What kind of mother abandons their sixteen-year-old daughter?"

"It was for the best."

"No, it was the best for Luke," Beck finally jumps in calmly. He rubs Jade's shoulders and hopes she's calming down. It's a long shot. "She was so upset when you guys left, Mrs. Valentine. She, she thought you didn't want her anymore."

Mrs. Valentine's eyes begin to water, as if she's finally seen the light in regards to her less than stellar parenting choices. She sits back down in the chair and stares at Jade helplessly. "That is ridiculous. Of course we wanted her."

"And you know what she said to me right before Beck had to pry her out of my arms?" Jade's voice cracks and she can feel the tears springing to her eyes. "She told me I was giving up on her like her mom and dad did."

"I never gave up on her."

"The hell you did," Jade snaps. "You, you pushed her aside to deal with Luke and just let her slip through the cracks. _I _took care of her. _I_ raised her and if you think for one minute that you're going to take her away from me then you've got another thing coming."

Beck rubs his face tiredly and looks back and forth between Mrs. Valentine and Jade. They've both have tears streaming down their cheeks and nothing he can say will make the situation better. He's almost wishing Lucy would wake up so he has an excuse to leave the room. But she doesn't so he's forced to listen to Jade and Mrs. Valentine argue over who knows what's best for Cat. Beck can see both sides of the story clearly but he'd never admit that to Jade. That would surely start World War III.

Mrs. Valentine stands up and lets out a frustrated breath. "Jade, listen to me," she pleads, taking Jade by the shoulders to hold her still. "You've been a mother for what? Seven and a half months? I've been a mother for almost twenty-five years. Some, sometimes your children don't turn out the way you plan but it's your responsibility as their parent to lead them in the right direction."

Jade promptly shrugs off Mrs. Valentine. "So just because Cat didn't turn out the way you planned you left her when she was a teenager?"

"I didn't say that."

"No, that's what you meant," Jade hisses angrily. "I know I've only been a mother for seven and a half months but no matter how my child turns out I will always love her and will never, _ever_ abandon her."

Beck can't help but smile and rub Jade's back in support. Mrs. Valentine has clearly had enough of the conversation that just keeps going in circles. She sighs deeply and reaches for her coat and mutters some sort of goodbye. Jade remains in place and shakes her head in utter annoyance.

"I knew I shouldn't have called her in the first place."

"She needed to see Cat though," Beck points out softly. He kisses Jade on the forehead and leads her in the kitchen to make some coffee. "Why don't we just forget about this and take Lucy to the park when she wakes up?"

Jade shrugs and studies Beck's face intently. "You think Cat should go to Idaho, don't you?"

"I didn't say that," Beck defends himself neutrally. "I just don't want you to get all worked up over something that may not even happen."

"But what if it does?" Jade's voice is so small and heartbreaking that Beck has to stop what he's doing and hold the kitchen counter for support. "What if she takes Cat away from us?"

Beck pulls Jade into his arms and holds her tight when he feels her fingers latch on to the back of his shirt. "Then we'll fight like hell to keep her here."

"I love you," Jade mumbles into Beck's neck. "So much."

"I love you, too," Beck whispers back. He rubs the small of Jade's back and kisses her forehead lovingly.

Though the aroma of coffee is quite strong, both Beck and Jade forget about the hot liquid as it brews audibly behind him. Jade takes the rare moment to revel in the comfortable silence, tightening her hold on Beck's waist as if she's afraid he's about to let go any minute. She inhales his cologne and closes her eyes; trying to remember the last time everything felt this still. It was weeks, months even.

When Lucy's cries permeate the room through the small baby monitor on the counter, Jade untangles herself from Beck and heads up stairs to retrieve the infant.

"Hi," Jade greets quietly. Her heart swells when Lucy's cries immediately stop when she picks her up and rocks her gently. She reaches for Mr. Purple and smiles when Lucy takes it and babbles contently. "Mr. Purple is Aunty Cat's favorite toy."

Lucy's chubby fingers curiously roam over Mr. Purple's soft fur. She squeals when Jade playfully makes the stuffed animal tickle her neck and face. It feels like forever since the last time Jade spent uninterrupted, quality time with her daughter. And she hates herself for it. Between Cat and recording Tori's single, she feels like the worst mother on the planet. But when Lucy looks up at her with her bright smile and reaches for her nose, Jade knows all is forgiven.

"You know I love you, right?" Jade whispers, swallowing past the lump in her throat. She grimaces when she realizes the baby's dressed in a mismatched outfit consisting of a yellow shirt and purple pants. "Even when daddy dresses you like a crazy homeless person."

The infant continues to gurgle and explore Mr. Purple. Jade strokes Lucy's hair and rocks her gently in the chair, holding her close.

"I know you're still little and have no idea what I'm saying," Jade continues softly. It's very rare her vulnerable side is so open. "But I'll always be there for you, okay? Daddy and I both. We'll always love you no matter what happens." She kisses the top of Lucy's soft head and squeezes her middle lovingly.

Lucy just shrieks in delight and Jade takes it as an understanding.

Beck appears with Jade's favorite mug in hand and a smile on his face. He watches his two favorite girls interact with one another before quietly stepping in the room and stealing the baby for himself. Jade sighs dramatically and stands up, rubbing Lucy's back as Beck bounces her up and down. The young parents revel in the sound of their daughter's laughter, envying her for being so innocent and unaware of what is going on with her Aunt Cat.

Jade can't help but watch as Lucy peers around the room in confusion, her little brows knitting together while she babbles sadly. It's like she knows Cat is missing and has been for days.

They spend the afternoon at the park, pushing Lucy on the swings and watching her eyes light up at her surroundings. Jade makes Beck take her down the slide because there's no way in hell Jade West would ever go down a public park's slide. All the excitement wipes Lucy out and she's fast asleep by 7:30. Jade forces Beck to watch The Scissoring but Beck ends up falling asleep halfway through.

Jade can only smile but with Beck and Lucy asleep and unable to occupy her mind, she starts thinking about Cat. How she is, what's she's doing. She wonders if she's able to go to sleep okay on her own. Cat was always somewhat afraid of the dark and Jade knew it was because Luke did a lot of crazy things when it was dark.

She can't fester for too long because Lucy's screaming at the top of her lungs and she's up the stairs before Beck can even stir. She scoops the wailing infant up and rocks her.

"It's okay, I'm here," Jade reassures Lucy softly, kissing her forehead and singing some lullaby she learned from Beck's mom. "I'm here," she repeats over and over again while the tears slip down her cheeks because the thought of her ever abandoning Lucy makes her want to breakdown and sob. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

* * *

**What do you guys think? Should Cat go to Idaho with her mom? I have two ways this could go so I wanted to see what you guys thought! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry my updates seem to be so sporadic! I've been feeling unmotivated lately. I hope you guys are still sticking with me! **

* * *

Not a lot of things scare Jade West, but the psychiatric ward of Cedars Sinai absolutely petrifies her. It's extremely desolate and bright, the halogen lights bathing her pale complexion in an unflattering light. It makes the heavy bags under her eyes more prominent. Two and a half weeks have passed since the last time she had seen Cat and Jade wasn't quite sure she was going to be able to face her. But at the request of Cat's therapist Dr. Sharp, both she and Beck were attending one of her therapy sessions.

Beck notices the apprehension on Jade's face and reaches for her hand. She revels in the comfort and smiles shyly at him. "It will be okay, babe."

"Yeah," Jade agrees in a whisper, staring at the floor. She takes a deep breath and tries to put her racing mind at ease. What was Cat going to be like? Was she going to be mad? Sad? Jade's biggest fear is that Cat won't recognize her. Or wants to go to Idaho. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Well, since you made us come here an hour early, I'd say we have about ten more minutes left," Beck chuckles. He reaches for his phone and scrolls anxiously though all of his read text messages.

Jade sighs and fiddles with the hem of her skirt. When she hears the sound of high heels clicking against the white tiled floor, both she and Beck immediately stand up, their hands still locked together.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Sharp. You must be Beck and Jade."

Beck nods and shakes the young therapist's hand. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah," Jade adds in dully. She starts to wonder if Dr. Sharp is some sort of quack; she's tall, blonde, and doesn't look a day over thirty. "Where's Cat?"

Dr. Sharp laughs and motions for the pair to follow. "Caterina is very excited about your visit. Although she is a bit anxious. Try to bear with her. She's slowly but surely getting used to her medication."

The seemingly long walk down the narrow hallway makes Jade feel antsy. Despite Beck's tight grip on her hand, she still can't help but worry. She's afraid Cat's not going to take their visit well. That, or she won't be able to handle their departure and breakdown completely.

"How's she doing?" Beck asks once they've stopped outside a closed room.

"Good," Dr. Sharp smiles confidently. "She's a lot less confused. The first week was tough but she seems to be adjusting well. I think you'll be pleased."

"You go in first," Jade says to Beck pleadingly. She drops her hand from his and takes a step back. "I need a minute."

Beck nods in understanding and kisses Jade's forehead, letting his lips linger for a few seconds. Dr. Sharp opens the door and Beck prepares himself. He quietly peers in the room and smiles when Cat's sitting on the couch with her hands folded in her lap with a dimply smile on her face.

"Caterina," Dr. Sharp clears her throat. "There's someone here to see you."

Beck's still not used to Cat being called "Caterina." It seems so foreign to him.

It takes Cat a minute, but as soon as she looks up and sees Beck's familiar face, she squeals and launches herself into his arms. "Beck! Beck!"

"Hey," Beck greets her with a large smile. He scoops her up and holds her tightly, reveling in the feeling of her little hands clasped around his neck. "I missed you."

"I missed you more!" Cat giggles, wiggling down to her feet. She hugs Beck around the waist and squeezes him. "I'm so happy you're here!"

Beck nods and ruffles Cat's hair. She seems like the old Cat. It makes some of the nerves dissipate. "You look great, Cat." Sure, her red hair is now mostly dark roots and a bit straggly, but she looks a lot better than she did weeks ago.

"Thank you," Cat smiles shyly, twiddling her thumbs. "Where's Jade?" She searches all around the empty room, her lips slipping into a pout. "Did she not want to come see me?"

"Of course she did," Beck says quickly.

"Because, because my mommy was supposed to come yesterday but she didn't." Cat's eyes were now welling with tears.

"Take a deep breath, Caterina," Dr. Sharp instructs carefully. "Your mom had to go back to Idaho, remember? She needed to be with your brother."

Cat nods and wipes her eyes with the back of arm. "Like always," she mumbles, burying her face into Beck's chest. "Then where's Jade?"

Beck rubs Cat's back. "She's in the hall, kiddo. I think she just needs a few minutes before she sees you."

"Why?"

"She's scared."

Cat looks up at Beck in confusion. "But Jade's not scared of anything."

"Yes, she is," Beck says with a soft smile. He reaches down and squeezes Cat's hands comfortingly. "She just doesn't like people to know."

"Can I go out and see her?"

Beck looks at Dr. Sharp for permission. When she nods, he leads Cat to the door. Cat hugs him one last time and gently pulls the door open, biting her bottom lip to stop it from wobbling so much. She peers to the left, then to the right, her heart rate quickening when she finally spots Jade. Her back's turned, but Cat knows it's her.

"Jadey?" Cat's voice is soft and timid. She watches Jade freeze in place but when she doesn't turn around, Cat begins to wonder if Jade heard her. "Jadey?" she says again, taking three small steps over to her best friend.

Jade takes a deep breath and turns around. She just hopes she can keep herself composed until their meeting's over. She doesn't want Cat to think she's weak.

"Hi, Jade!" Cat squeals before closing the gap between her and Jade. She can't control her tears when Jade hugs her tightly. "Jadey!"

"Hi, baby girl," Jade whispers, her voice breaking a little when Cat's whimpers don't seem to die down. She runs her fingers through Cat's tangled hair and rocks her back and forth gently.

"You came to visit!" Cat manages to choke out through tears. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Jade says, breaking into a smile. "We need to re-dye your hair, red," she laughs, ruffling Cat's hair.

Cat giggles and puts her hands on top of her head. "I know!" She tugs on Jade's hand and pulls her inside. "Come sit with me."

Jade follows Cat and tries not to trip as Cat drags her over to the plush leather couch she's sure Cat's spent a lot of time on. Beck smiles and scoots over, making room for Cat to sit in the middle of him and Jade. Cat reaches for Beck's hand and holds it tightly. She's completely at ease with her two favorite people in the world sitting right next to her.

Dr. Sharp takes a seat and can't help but smile; it's the happiest she's seen Cat since her arrival nearly three weeks ago. "Thank you for coming."

"It's no problem," Beck says, rubbing Cat's back. "Anything for Cat."

"Cat's told me a lot about you," Dr. Sharp laughs. "I think I know your whole life story. The both of you."

"I'm sure you do," Jade mumbles. She can't help but smiles when she hears Cat giggle.

"And I told her about Lucy!" Cat shrieks excitedly. Then, when she realizes the infant is nowhere to be seen, she pouts. "How come you didn't bring Lucy?"

"She's not feeling too well today," Beck tells Cat with a half smile. "But she misses you a lot."

Cat's eyes widen. "R-really?"

"Of course," Jade says reassuringly. She wraps Cat in a tight hug until she feels the younger girl settle calmly. "Every morning she crawls into your room looking for you."

"She's crawling?" Cat gasps. "Phooey, I'm missing everything!"

"She also has four teeth," Beck supplies with a proud grin. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out his PearPhone. "Here, look."

Cat's face lights as Beck scrolls through the various pictures of Lucy he has. "She looks so much like you, Jade. Show Dr. Sharp!" She grabs the phone out of Beck's hands and rushes over to show her therapist. "This is Lucy! Isn't she cute?"

"Very," Dr. Sharp says enthusiastically. She scribbles down a few notes and motions for Cat to sit back down. "Why don't you tell Beck and Jade what we've been working on in our sessions?"

Cat goes very quiet. She shrugs and peers down at the floor. "I don't wanna."

"How come?" Dr. Sharp prods carefully. "You should be proud of all the progress you've made."

"No," Cat cries softly. "No! I don't want them to know."

Jade looks at Beck in concern. "Tell us what?" Beck asks because he knows Jade can't.

Cat shakes her head and starts to rock back and forth. "You can't know! It will change everything."

"I bet it won't," Jade promises, rubbing Cat's back. She winces when Cat recoils and wraps her arms around her body tightly. "Cat, look at me."

"No!" Cat screeches. She shrugs off Jade's grip and fixes her gaze to the floor. "My mom told me, she told me it will change things if I tell you."

Dr. Sharp butts in and Jade kind of hates her for it. "Cat," the therapist says, knitting her eyebrows in confusion. "What is going to change?"

"My mom said if Jade and Beck knew I was…" Cat trails off with a sob. "She said they wouldn't be able to handle it!"

"Handle what?" Jade asks impatiently. She feels her blood begin to boil; God only knows the lies Mrs. Valentine probably fed Cat. "What did your mom say?"

Cat just continues to ignore everyone and wring her hands together nervously. She feels everyone's eyes on her and begins to pull at her hair. "Stop looking at me!"

"She's still trying to adjust to the medication," Dr. Sharp tells Beck and Jade mournfully. "Maybe, maybe we should try again another day."

Beck shakes his head. "We're not leaving." He turns to Cat and tilts her chin up so they're looking at one another. "You know Jade and I love you no matter what, right?"

"Y-yeah," Cat says, her bottom lip wobbling frantically.

"So tell us what's wrong," Jade says encouragingly. "Come sit with me and tell me what your mom said."

Cat hesitates but doesn't protest when Jade lifts her onto her lap. "You won't be mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" Jade asks in confusion, locking her arm around Cat's middle to ensure the smaller girl doesn't go anywhere.

"I'm, I'm schizophrenic," Cat confesses so quietly that Jade and Beck stare at her blankly. "I'm schizophrenic," she says more loudly. "Like my brother."

"Cat, did you think, did you think we would be mad at you for that?" Beck says after a moment of silence. When Cat nods, he sighs and kisses her temple. "Why would that thought ever cross your mind?"

"You're still our Cat," Jade says with a slight sniffle. She blinks back the unshed tears and holds Cat even tighter.

"My mommy said you wouldn't be able to handle me anymore," Cat says with a frown. "She said that between your work and Lucy, there won't be a lot of time for me. She wants me to go to Idaho with her."

Jade shakes her head in protest. "You're not going anywhere."

"We have all the time in the world for you," Beck assures Cat, scooting closer so he can give the little redhead a much needed hug.

"You see, Cat?" Dr. Sharp interjects. "Beck and Jade aren't going anywhere."

Cat stares back and forth between Beck and Jade, almost in disbelief that after all these years, Beck and Jade are still here for her. "So my mommy lied?"

"Yes," Jade's quick to say, but quickly retracts her statement when Beck nudges her with an elbow to her side. "No," she sighs. "I think she's just trying to look out for you, baby girl. Maybe she was just worried we'd be too busy. But we're never too busy for you, okay? You are our first baby after all."

Cat giggles and feels a wave of relief wash over her. "You were always better parents than my actual parents," she whispers, grabbing onto Beck's arm and giving it a squeeze. "You'll really still have time for me when I get out of here?"

"Always," Jade promises, brushing the hair out of Cat's eyes.

"And you still have Tori, Andre, and…Robbie."

Cat smiles. "Robbie still cares about me? Even if, even if I was mean to him?"

"He understands," Beck says, squeezing Cat's hand.

"Dr. Sharp?" Cat asks the therapist shyly. "Can I tell Jade and Beck what we've been working on now?"

Dr. Sharp nods. "Of course, dear. Go for it."

"I've learned to control the voices in my head!" Cat says proudly. "I haven't heard any in over a week. Oh! And, and I'm going to work hard to be the old Cat again."

"I think you already are the old Cat," Jade says, tickling Cat's sides.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Beck smiles. "We're so proud of you, Cat."

Cat leans forward and hugs Beck tightly. "I love you, Beck."

"Ahem," Jade clears her throat playfully.

"And I love you Jade!" Cat beams, pulling away from Beck and throwing her arms around Jade's neck. "A little more than Beck," she whispers with a giggle.

"I heard that."

Jade hugs Cat when she shows no signs of letting go. "I love you, too, baby girl. Maybe even more than Beck."

Beck shakes his head. "Okay, I definitely heard that one."

Dr. Sharp lets the three friends have another few minutes before interrupting their reunion. "Okay, Caterina. Start saying goodbye. It will be time to take your afternoon dosage soon before lunch."

Jade knows it's coming. She sees Cat's face fall and the tears build up in her eyes automatically. Cat stands up and looks at Beck and Jade frantically, silently begging them not to leave.

"But, but they just got here!"

"I know, but what did we discuss yesterday? It was going to be a quick visit. We still have a lot to work on."

"No!" Cat screeches. "No! I'm fine! I can go home now if I want!"

Dr. Sharp shakes her head. "No, sweetheart, you can't."

Jade assumes Cat's medication is wearing off and cautiously stands up, resting her hand on the small of Cat's back. "Hey, baby girl, look at me."

Cat refuses and stomps her foot. "No. I'm not saying goodbye."

"Okay, then we're leaving," Beck says, pulling at Jade's arm. He knows it's a lot easier for the both of them if they just walk out. "Bye, Cat."

"This is your last chance," Dr. Sharp says matter-of-factly. "Come on, Caterina, don't do something you may regret later."

Cat remains defiant, staring at the floor.

"Bye," Jade says, kissing the back of Cat's head. She doesn't linger, which doesn't give Cat any more chances to finally say goodbye. It's heartbreaking, but she can't stand to watch Cat fall apart anymore.

It's when Jade and Beck are nearly out the door when Cat finally reacts. "Wait!" she screams pleadingly, rushing over and colliding into Jade's body. "Don't leave yet. Please."

Jade smoothes down Cat's hair and rocks her back and forth. "We have to. It's time for you to eat lunch soon."

"I don't wanna," Cat protests. "The food makes my tummy hurt! I'll skip lunch if I can stay with you."

"We have to go, Cat," Beck says, trying to pry her away from Jade. It's like déjà vu. "Give Jade one last hug and then you have to let her go, okay?"

Cat bursts into tears and refuses to let go. "Jadey, no. You can't leave yet!"

"Caterina," Dr. Sharp sighs. "You know what's going to happen if you're not willing to let Jade go. Do I have to call the orderly?"

"Don't rush me!" Cat continues to cry, her face muffled by Jade's shoulder.

"If you can't calm down-"

"Give them a few minutes," Beck asks the therapist quietly. "Please. Jade knows what's she's doing." He pulls Dr. Sharp to the side. "Just watch."

Jade swallows past the lump in her throat. She scoops Cat into her arms and lets her best friend sob into her shoulder. "You're okay, Cat. I promise."

"I don't want you to go!"

"I have to," Jade whispers, swaying from side to side. She feels Cat's erratic breathing begin to even out. "I have to get back home to Lucy. And you have to concentrate on getting better."

Cat sniffles and lifts her head off Jade's shoulder. "But I miss you."

"I miss you, too, baby girl," Jade smiles sadly. "Everyone misses you. But you need to stay here until they think you're ready to come home."

"Why?"

"You just do," Jade whispers, letting a few tears slip down her cheeks. "I'm going to put you down now, okay?"

Cat's hesitant. "Just a few seconds more!" She squeezes Jade's neck and tries her hardest to keep holding on even when Jade somehow manages to untangle her legs from her waist. "Jadey, no!"

"Down, Cat," Jade demands. "Do you want a repeat of last time?"

"No," Cat whimpers, reluctantly sliding down to her feet.

Jade smiles and kisses her friend's forehead. "Good job," she praises, bending down to reach in her bag. "I brought you something."

Cat gasps when Jade pulls out Mr. Purple out of her bag. "Mr. Purple?"

"Lucy spit up on him the other day but I washed him," Jade laughs, extending the stuffed animal out to Cat. "He'll help you get through the rest of your time here."

"Yeah," Cat agrees with a wide smile. She hugs Mr. Purple. "I missed him!"

"Let's go, Cat," Dr. Sharp says caringly. "I'll take you down to get your meds."

Cat continues to whimper but agrees. "Bye Jade, bye Beck." She hugs them both one last time. "Thanks for coming."

"Bye, Cat," Beck says, keeping a firm grip on Jade's hand. "We'll see you soon."

Jade waves and waits until Cat's out the door to release the sob she's been holding in for the past two hours. She buries herself in Beck's arms and holds the back of his shirt so tightly that her knuckles are turning white.

"Hey, hey," Beck says in Jade's ear. "Its okay. Everything's okay."

"I know," Jade sniffles in relief. "I know."

"And it's all going to be okay."

For the first time in months, Jade actually believes it's true.


End file.
